5 milestones made by India's batters on Day 1 of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

The new era of Test cricket for India under Shubman Gill's leadership has started in an emphatic fashion. The opening Test against England at Headingley completed its first day on Friday, with the visitors in a commanding position at 359/3.

England won the toss, and it was the only thing that went in their way. The Leeds surface had a bit of seam, but it wasn't enough to make early inroads as KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted superbly to make a 91-run stand.

Although England got two breakthroughs just before lunch in the form of Rahul (42) and Sai Sudharsan (0), India went unscathed in the second session.

Jaiswal was the first one to hit his hundred before captain Shubman Gill joined the party. Before the end of the day's play, Rishabh Pant reached fifty as well, capping off one of the most dominant days for India in recent history.

Now, let us look at the top five milestones that were created during Day 1 of the England vs India Leeds Test.

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#5 India's highest score on Day 1 of a SENA Test in 24 years

England v India - 1st Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty Images

Yes, the Leeds pitch didn't have any demons on the opening day, but the Indian batters deserve all the plaudits for making it count. After being put to bat first, KL Rahul and Jaiswal frustrated the English bowlers before Gill and Pant hammered down runs for fun.

After scoring 92 runs in the opening session, India didn't give an inch to the hosts. In fact, in the remaining two sessions, India accumulated 267 runs at a run rate of around 4.5.

In total, India ended up with 359/3 in 84 overs. This is now India's highest score on Day 1 of a SENA Test in 24 years. Overall, it is the third-highest score in an away Test after 399/3 in Galle (in 2017) and 372/7 in Bloemfontein, South Africa (2001).

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#4 Only third instance of two Indian batters scoring 100s on Day 1 of tour

Not often you see a visiting team having two centurions in an innings, especially in SENA countries. However, let alone this, India pulled off one of the rarest feats by having both Jaiswal and Gill as centurions within Day 1 of the Test in England.

Well, it is only the third time in India's 93 years of history that two players have tonned up on the opening day of an away Test tour. While Jaiswal was dismissed at 101, Gill is still going strong at 127*.

The two batters have become only the third pair after former legends did it 17 years apart. Back in 2001, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag hit hundreds against South Africa in Bloemfontein.

Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan became only the second pair when they did it in Galle in 2017.

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#3 Gill has 2nd highest score as Indian on Test captaincy debut

England v India - 1st Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty

How would Shubman Gill fare as a captain of Team India? Will he improve his record in away conditions? Will his batting take a hit after adding leadership responsibility? Fans had a lot of questions, but the new face of Indian cricket has answered them all.

And he has answered quite emphatically. Right from the onset, he looked at ease, as if he's batting at number four for years. Majorly, all of his boundaries were poetry in motion until the end, when he toyed with the fielders.

At the end of the day, Gill scored 127* off 175, including 16 fours and a mighty six. This is now the second-highest score by an Indian on Test captaincy debut. Only Vijay Hazare's 164* is better than Gill's tally. He will have a golden chance to surpass the late great Vijay Hazare on Day 2.

Sunil Gavaskar (116 vs New Zealand in 1976) and Virat Kohli (115 vs Australia in 2014) are the other two players to hit centuries on Test captaincy debut for India.

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#2 Sai Sudharsan's unwanted record

England v India - 1st Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty Images

India had all their wishes granted, barring one. Sai Sudharsan, who was handed his Test debut cap by Pujara, hoped for a better outing. After a solid opening stand, Sudharsan came in at number three and looked a bit overawed by the occasion.

He handed a gentle outside edge down the leg side off Ben Stokes' delivery to get dismissed for a four-ball duck. In doing so, he claimed an unwanted record to his name.

Now, Sudharsan has become the first Indian top-order batter to register a duck on debut Test in the last 26 years. He's the first to get out for zero while batting in the top three on his Test debut since Devang Gandhi, who registered a duck against New Zealand in 1999 while opening.

Overall, Sudharsan is the 53rd Indian to get out for naught on Test debut.

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#1 Rishabh Pant surpasses MS Dhoni's record

England v India - 1st Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty

Considering how dominantly he batted, Rishabh Pant is most likely to join Jaiswal and Gill as a centurion in this innings. He started the proceedings with a four down the ground that even shook Ben Stokes.

Then, Pant continued milking runs for fun as he wasn't troubled much. Facing 102 deliveries, Pant ended up with a score of 65 runs, hammering his 16th Test fifty.

Also, he surpassed multiple milestones en route to his half-century on Friday. Pant, who's perhaps India's best Test batter in the last few years, completed his 3,000 Test runs. Doing so in just 76 innings, he's the fastest Asian keeper to achieve the landmark.

Not only this, Pant also surpassed MS Dhoni in a major record. The hard-hitting southpaw is now Asia's leading run-getter in SENA countries as a wicket-keeper. MS Dhoni, who played 32 Tests in these four countries, scored 1,731 runs at an average of 31.47, without scoring a ton.

Meanwhile, Pant has surpassed him as he now has 1,746 runs at an average of 38.80. Despite playing just 27 Tests, Pant also has four hundreds and six fifties. He can pile up more runs on Saturday.