India captain Gill piles on the runs against England with maiden Test double century

BIRMINGHAM - India captain Shubman Gill scored a superb maiden Test double-century as he once more lead from the front against England during Thursday's second day of the second Test at Edgbaston.

Gill's 269 was the cornerstone of India's imposing first-innings 587 all out.

The 25-year-old Gill, in just his second Test as captain, set a new record for the highest score by an India batsman in a Test in England, surpassing the great Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at the Oval back in 1979.

Gill also received excellent support from spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar in partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets respectively.

Already a Test-best 168 not out at lunch, Gill continued to take a toll of England's attack as he once more batted in near flawless fashion.

He was especially severe on Shoaib Bashir, cover-driving the off-spinner for four and lofting him for six, with the bowler largely unthreatening against frontline batsmen in a return of 3-167 in 45 overs.

Gill also struck two fours in three balls off fast bowler Josh Tongue, an on-drive followed by a flick off the hip.

A hooked single off Tongue, whose two wickets cost 119 runs, took Gill to 200, with the elated skipper bowing to a capacity crowd in celebration.

England brought on part-time medium-pacer Harry Brook (0-31 in five) in a desperate bid to 'buy' a wicket but Gill struck him for three successive fours - the best a textbook straight drive.

But it was occasional off-spinner Joe Root who removed Sundar by bowling the left-hander with a delivery that turned and bounced.

By that stage Gill had bettered his Test-best score for the second match in a row after making 147 in last week's five-wicket loss at Headingley, where England went 1-0 up in a five-match series.

His marathon Edgbaston innings of some eight-and-a-half hours finally ended with a rare false shot when a tired pull off Tongue found Ollie Pope at square leg, with India now 574-8.

Several England players ran up to shake Gill's hand after he had faced 387 balls, including 30 fours and three sixes.

India, again sent into bat by England captain Ben Stokes, resumed on 310-5.

Gill was 114 not out after becoming just the seventh player to score a century in each of his first two (or more) Tests as captain.

It was also, statistically at least, the most secure Test hundred on record in England since analysts Cricviz began keeping such records in 2006.

On Wednesday, Gill's false shot percentage was just 3.5 percent. The average when making a hundred in England is 12 percent.

Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed an entertaining 87 before Jadeja (41 not out) joined forces with Gill in a stand worth 99 at Wednesday's close.

But India, batting in ideal sunny conditions on Thursday, now wanted even more runs from Gill and Jadeja after collapses of 7-41 and 6-31 cost them dear at Headingley.

Jadeja went to 50 with a single off local hero Chris Woakes, who finished with an economical 2-81 in 25 overs.

Stokes introduced Bashir and set a 6-3 legside field for paceman Brydon Carse, with England trying increasingly unusual methods to make a breakthrough.

Gill's single off Bashir took him to 150. Buoyed by setting a new personal best with the largest of his seven hundreds in 34 Tests, Gill then reverse-swept Bashir for four.

Jadeja lofted Bashir for six to bring up India's 400 and Gill raised the sixth-wicket duo's 200-run stand by slog-sweeping the spinner for another six.

But 10 minutes before lunch, Jadeja gloved a short ball from Tongue to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. He faced 137 balls, striking 10 fours and a six.