India captain Shubman Gill added another milestone to his growing Test career on Day 1 of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur, becoming the fastest Indian captain in terms of days to complete 1000 Test runs as skipper.
The landmark came during Gill’s fluent half-century after he walked in following the dismissal of Sai Sudharsan. While KL Rahul grabbed the headlines with a century, Gill quietly etched his name into the record books with another significant achievement in red-ball cricket.
Gill reached the 1,000-run mark as India’s Test captain in just 351 days, making him the fastest Indian skipper to achieve the milestone in terms of time taken. He also became the second-fastest Indian captain to reach 1,000 Test runs by innings, getting there in just 15 innings, behind only Sunil Gavaskar, who achieved the feat in 14 innings.
The 26-year-old is now the 11th Indian captain to score 1000 or more runs in Test cricket while leading the national side. The achievement further underlines Gill’s impressive start as India’s red-ball leader.
The Punjab batter has enjoyed a productive run since taking over the captaincy and once again led from the front in Mullanpur. His half-century against Afghanistan was his ninth Test fifty and helped India strengthen their position after a solid opening day.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat first. Yashasvi Jaiswal provided a brisk start before departing, after which KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan steadied the innings with a crucial 139-run partnership. Sudharsan narrowly missed out on a century, scoring 81, while Rahul completed a well-crafted hundred before getting out on the very next delivery.
Gill then joined Rahul in the middle and ensured India maintained control during the final session. His knock not only kept the scoreboard moving but also saw him enter an elite list of Indian captains.
‘Most satisfying format’
Ahead of the Test, Gill had spoken about his love for the longest format and the pride he feels in leading India. “For me, this is the most satisfying format. If you do well in this format, that is how I feel most good about myself. The feel of wearing the whites, wearing the baggy cap. Nothing beats that; it’s the traditional way, the OG way of playing cricket,” Gill had said in a video released by the BCCI.
The Indian skipper had also described leading the national team as a dream come true, especially in front of his home crowd in Mullanpur. On Saturday, he backed those words with another memorable performance and a historic milestone in Test cricket.
