Record-breaking Gill puts India in complete command

Tea India 564 for 7 (Gill 265*, Jadeja 89) vs England

Shubman Gill piled on the highest-ever score by an Indian captain to drive England into the ground at Edgbaston, reaching his first Test double-hundred and walking off unbeaten on 265 at the tea interval. For the second session in a row, England managed a solitary wicket as their bowling attack tired, with Joe Root dismissing Washington Sundar for 42.

India cruised past 400 on the second morning at Edgbaston, then accelerated beyond 500 after lunch. Their ploy to pack their batting line-up with allrounders after their lower-order capitulations at Headingley attracted much opprobrium but has paid off in style so far, with partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets.

Gill was all class at No. 4, batting through a third consecutive session while hardly offering England a chance. He relentlessly milked Shoaib Bashir, who has bowled 21 overs without reward on the second day, for singles, and scored boundaries all around the ground, picking gaps with precision and finding reward for playing late.

Root celebrated his dismissal of Washington with unusual vigour after cleaning him up shortly before the tea interval with an offbreak that turned past the outside edge. He was curiously underbowled by Ben Stokes, who tried just about every other option to get a wicket - including Harry Brook's lesser-spotted medium pace.

Washington was troubled by Josh Tongue's bouncer ploy before lunch, but took him on after the interval, hooking him over long leg for six. He otherwise provided excellent support as Gill cruised past various landmarks, including the highest score by an Indian on English soil (previously 221) and the highest score by an Indian captain (previously 254*).

There were no obvious signs of an imminent declaration at the tea interval, and India are well placed to post the highest total against England in the Stokes-McCullum era, which stands at 579 (by Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022). On the three previous occasions that England have conceded 550-plus under Stokes' captaincy, they have gone on to win.