Edgbaston Test: Record-breaking Shubman Gill on track to break Sir Don Bradman's 95-year old record?

When transition of an Asian Test side has to begin with an overseas tour outside the sub-continent, it is always a gargantuan task at hand. Add to this the fact that a young captain is debuting as a leader in the format which he hasn't been able to crack so far. The world seemed to be against Shubman Gill when the Test squad was announced and the reactions to his captaincy appointment were sporadic to say the least. Gill had openly proclaimed during one the of the pre-series interviews that his ambition is to be the top-scorer in the series. At that time, not many were sure if they should consider this as an wannabe statement of intent or words of a truly determined individual.

 

Four innings into the series and Gill has not only walked the talk but also made the cynic eat humble pie. A century to start the series was the perfect tonic for Gill and while India lost at Headingley, the skipper had begun on a positive note. It wasn't just his personal batting effort, India generally batted well apart from the lower order collapses which hurt them badly. At Edgbaston, a venue where India had never won, Gill took his game to another level altogether, and with it, India's too. 

 

The 25-year-old's marathon knock of 269 in the first innings was the 3rd highest by any visiting captain in England and the best by an Asian skipper. It was also the highest individual Test score by an Indian batter in SENA (SA, ENG, NZ, AUS) countries, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar's 241 against Australia at the SCG in 2004. If England thought that Gill was done for the game,  they were in a rude shock on the fourth day. Gill's appetite for runs showed no signs of slowing as he tucked into England's inconsistent bowling attack on a flat pitch with short boundary dimensions. 

 

If not for the declaration plan forcing him to be a bit more aggressive than usual, Gill could well have notched up his second double hundred of the game. Nevertheless, he did become the first batter ever to register scores of 250+ and 150+ in the same Test. Amidst his record-breaking start to the series, Gill's career average has also zoomed ahead from 35 pre-series to 42 after the second innings at Edgbaston. After four innings, he has tallied a mind-boggling 585 run in the series and we have another three Tests still to go. 

 

Sir Don Bradman's record of 974 runs in a series against England back in 1930 has remained an improbable record over decades for obvious reasons. With the playing conditions and nature of the sport getting reinvented, it has never seemed viable for this milestone to be broken. Particularly with most of the elite teams no longer so dependent on a single batter for their runs like Australia were during Bradman's days. Well, Gill at the moment needs just another 390 runs from a maximum of six innings to break this unprecedented record and could also go one further by breaking the 1000-run barrier in a Test series - a feat that could be untouchable for years to come.

 

If Gill can sustain his hunger and focus for the remainder of the series, he will have set new benchmarks for future Test batters in an era where batting has actually been tougher in the longest format, more so with the advent of the World Test Championship concept. Ironically, Gill will not only has the chance of setting up this milestone in such an era but also in a country where you don't usually associate run-fests.

 

 When you think of England, batting records are not what comes to mind as a first thought. Dukes ball, overcast conditions and the fast bowlers getting the ball to move corners is the most common sight when it comes to Test cricket in the country. At least, that's how it used to be. However, since the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum association started as captain-coach of England's Test team, pitches have seen a revamp, both in international and domestic cricket. 

 

With England's 'BazBall' approach of all-out aggression hinging on batting explosiveness, surfaces had to be more placid than the ones in yesteryear.It also meant that the opposition could have a chance of scoring runs themselves but Stokes-McCullum punted on the fact that their fast-scoring approach would intimidate and bruise opponents, plus give their own bowlers enough time to get 20 wickets. It has also worked reasonably for them across all conditions except in India and Australia, arguably the toughest places to tour for most teams. 

 

In the 2021-22 series against India at home, Root amassed a whopping 737 runs while the return series in India last year saw Yashasvi Jaiswal also surpassing the 700-run mark. Unless his form deteriorates drastically in this series, Gill should comfortably go past 700 and perhaps, 800 too.  But ca he go further and touch 900? Can he push past Bradman and touch the zenith at 1000?

 

More than the runs he has scored, it's also the tempo of his innings that have been a treat to watch. Gill has always been a batter who has had so much time to play his shots, even against the fastest of bowlers. A strong player of spin too, his all-round game was always destined for greatness. The only question was about his mindset and how hungry he was to follow the legacy set by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Prior to the series, even the most optimistic India supporters would have been unsure. Now, they believe. And it's totally to Gill's credit for the hard work he has put behind the scenes. 

 

Right from his solid front foot stride in defence and playing with the bat very close to the front pad, Gill has looked rock solid even while blocking the ball. His shot selection, ability to leave the ball and defend at will have all synced in a way it never did before. Maybe, just maybe, he has finally cracked the format although he'd need to maintain consistency to strengthen the argument in his favour. But with such a historic start to the series, who'd bet against him?

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