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25-year-old Gill becomes the first Indian captain to win a Test match against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Under his leadership, India defeated England by 336 runs.
Shubman Gill becomes first Indian captain to win a Test match in Birmingham. (Picture Credit: AP)
In only his second Test as India captain, Shubman Gill entered his name in the history books by becoming the first India captain to win a Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Under Gill’s leadership, India bowled out England for 271 runs in their second innings of the second Test in reply to the 608-run target to secure a memorable win by 336 runs.
In fact, Gill is the first captain from Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) to win a Test match in Birmingham.
Gill led India from the front with the bat by top-scoring in both innings. He came out to bat at No. 4 in the first innings and, with the help of 30 fours and 3 sixes, scored 269 runs from 387 balls. In India’s second innings as well, Gill came out to bat at No. 4 on Saturday (July 5) and scored 161 runs from 162 balls with the help of 13 fours and 8 sixes.
He was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja, who scored half-centuries in both innings.
A total of eight players—Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Ajit Wadekar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah—led India in a Test match against England at Edgbaston before Gill, but no one could manage to secure a win.
In fact, apart from Kapil in July 1986, the remaining seven ended up on a losing side.
India’s performance in Tests played at Edgbaston in Birmingham
| CAPTAIN | RESULT | DATE |
| Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi | Defeat by 132 runs | July 13-15, 1967 |
| Ajit Wadekar | Defeat by an innings & 78 runs | July 4-8, 1974 |
| Srinivas Venkataraghavan | Defeat by an innings & 83 runs | July 12-16, 1979 |
| Kapil Dev | Draw | July 3-8, 1986 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | Defeat by 8 wickets | June 6-9, 1996 |
| MS Dhoni | Defeat by an innings & 242 runs | August 10-13, 2011 |
| Virat Kohli | 31 runs | August 1-4, 2018 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 7 wickets | July 1-5, 2022 |
| Shubman Gill | Win by 336 runs | July 2-6, 2025 |
The win over England in Birmingham on Sunday was only the 10th time in 69 Tests that India managed to get the better of England in England.
Gill is only the seventh Indian captain after Ajit Wadekar, Kapil Dev (twice), Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli (thrice) to win a Test match in England.
India’s Test wins in England
| CAPTAIN | MARGIN | VENUE | YEAR |
| Ajit Wadekar | 4 wickets | The Oval | August 19-24, 1971 |
| Kapil Dev | 5 wickets | Lord’s | June 5-10, 1986 |
| Kapil Dev | 279 runs | Leeds | June 19-23, 1986 |
| Sourav Ganguly | innings and 46 runs | Leeds | August 22-26, 2002 |
| Rahul Dravid | 7 wickets | Nottingham | July 27-31, 2007 |
| MS Dhoni | 95 runs | Lord’s | July 17-21, 2014 |
| Virat Kohli | 203 runs | Nottingham | August 18-22, 2018 |
| Virat Kohli | 151 runs | Lord’s | August 12-16, 2021 |
| Virat Kohli | 157 runs | The Oval | September 2-6, 2021 |
| Shubman Gill | 336 runs | Birmingham | July 2-6, 2025 |
Wadekar was the first Indian captain to win a Test match in England. He achieved the feat in August 1971 at The Oval, and Kohli, with three wins, is India’s most successful Test captain in England.
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