"Did not make a mistake" - Former England captain's massive praise for Shubman Gill's 269 in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England captain Michael Vaughan opined that Shubman Gill's marathon 269 should not be discounted over the fact that it was scored on a flat wicket, but instead be lauded for how faultless it was. The Indian skipper led from the front to score a historic knock and propel India to 587 in the first innings of the second Test in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Shubman Gill resumed from his overnight score of 114 at the start of Day 2, and continued right from where he left off. After doing the hard yards early on in the innings, particularly in the second session of Day 1, the batter ensured that he converted his start, and held his end to stretch the team total.

The skipper put on massive partnerships with both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to frustrate the England bowlers. He eventually crossed his previous high score, recorded his maiden Test double hundred, and ultimately ended with the highest score by an Indian batter in England.

Vaughan noted how England's top-order faltered on a flat surface because of basic mistakes, and lauded Gill for not making such choices.

"When you see someone play so well, the first thing, and we have all been talking about it, that it is a flat wicket. When England went out to bat, they lost three wickets because they made three mistakes, Shubman Gill did not make a mistake. So, I am going to give him a huge amount of credit for his concentration, his dedication to making sure that he can stay in, and then the pure strokeplay," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

"I've seen many many great innings, and that is up there with those great innings, because someone that is 0-1 down in the series, is captaining his country for the second time, the pressure is on, the talk of the team being a negative one, to walk out and score that amount of runs and put you team in such a dominating position to allow your bowlers to run in hard for an hour and get three wickets, that is why I rank it as such a high valued innings," he continued.

Vaughan further stated that how Gill's technique looked secure against the nip-backers that have led to his downfall on several occasions.

"England have tried challenging that LBW that Gill has been vulnerable to in the past, but I think at the minute his technique is so good that he's given him the chance to just say, 'You know what, you can bowl whatever you want, my technique will look after me.' This is his time to create a legacy as a leader, and as a batter," he added.

Shubman Gill was eyeing a historic triple hundred in the final session of Day 2, but was dismissed off Shoaib Bashir's bowling in the 144th over.

"He asked me to hang in there" - Shubman Gill recalls chat with Gautam Gambhir on Day 1 of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Shubman Gill breezed past the English bowlers on Day 2 as they grew tired of bowling in the heat and on a flat surface. However, it was not all smooth sailing for the Indian skipper when he came to bat initially. He had to deal with some tight bowling by the England pacers, and recorded the slowest fifty of his career, before gradually switching gears.

"When I walked in yesterday, near lunch break, I tried to get myself into the game. I was around 35-40 runs at around Tea after playing around 100 balls. I went to the dressing room and spoke to GG Bhai (Gautam Gambhir), I told him I am not getting boundaries; I am finding the fielders. He asked me to hang in there," Gill said after Stumps on Day 2 (via India Today).

Team India are well on top in the second Test after the bowlers made an impact following the batters' heroics on Day 2. England were reduced to 25-3 in the eighth over, before Harry Brook and Joe Root saw off the remaining overs.