ENG vs IND: Team India Captain Shubman Gill Gets Hands On Unique Milestone At Headingley Test Following 56-Ball Fifty

England vs India: Ben Stokes' England won the toss and decided to field against Shubman Gill's Team India in the first match of the five-game series, at Headingley in Leeds, on Friday, June 20th.

The five-game series against England marks the beginning of India's voyage in the 2025-2027 cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). Team India is currently undergoing a transition phase after many seniors retired from red-ball cricket.

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Following the retirement of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill was named the new Test skipper of Team India. It was Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar who announced Shubman Gill as the new leader of the Indian Cricket Team in the long-format.

The newly appointed Test captain displayed a scintillating performance in the Headingley Test against England. The 25-year-old skipper slammed a 56-ball half-century in the second session on Day 01 of the first Test match against the Three Lions.

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Shubman Gill Achieves Unique Landmark With Fifty At Headingley Test

With his half-century, Shubman Gill achieved another historic milestone and joined an elusive list of players. Shubman Gill became the youngest Indian player to smash a half-century in England in the long format. Previously, it was Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi who held the record with his fifty at the age of 26 in 1967 at Leeds. Now, Shubman Gill leapfrogged the former cricketer to hold the top spot on the chart.

Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin stands in the third place on the list with his half-century at the age of 27 in 1990 at Lord's. Talismanic batter Virat Kohli stands in the fourth place with his half-century in 2018 at Birmingham, when he was 29 years old.

Shubman Gill's Stats In Test Cricket

Shubman Gill made his Test debut against Australia in 2020. Following that, he has played 32 Test matches and 59 innings, scoring 1893 runs at an average of 35.05.

Just before the end of the first session on Day 01, India struggled a bit. However, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal's solid partnership helped Team India to make a comeback in the game. At Tea, India stood at 215/2.