"Now you can very proudly say that he has settled very well in the captaincy role" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shubman Gill's century in ENG vs IND 2nd Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shubman Gill for scoring centuries in his first two Tests as captain. He opined that the stylish batter has elevated his game since taking over the leadership role.

Gill scored an unbeaten 114 off 216 deliveries as India ended Day 1 (Wednesday, July 2) of the second Test against England at 310/5. The Indian skipper had played a 147-run knock in the first innings of the first Test in Leeds.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Gill for raising his game as a captain.

"Shubman Gill, his second Test as a captain, and he has scored his second century. He batted with great command. In fact, he batted cautiously in the second session. We were repeatedly saying that Shubman Gill, the batter, will have to help Shubman Gill, the captain, and he is doing that. He is walking the talk," Chopra said.

"It has been an immense elevation in stature as he has gone to England and scored runs. Of course, he hadn't had a full tour previously, had played a few matches for sure, but that was across years, played the WTC finals and an odd other match. So the sample size wasn't big, but now you can very proudly say that he has settled very well in the captaincy role," he added.

Shubman Gill has struck 12 fours in his unbeaten 114-run knock. He and Ravindra Jadeja (41* off 67) have stitched together an unbroken 99-run sixth-wicket partnership after India were reduced to 211/5.

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"Thirties are not going to be enough" - Aakash Chopra on Karun Nair's knock in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Karun Nair was caught at second slip off Brydon Carse's bowling. [P/C: Getty]

While appreciating Yashasvi Jaiswal for scoring a 107-ball 87, Aakash Chopra noted that Karun Nair (31 of 50) and Rishabh Pant (25 off 42) failed to convert their starts into substantial efforts.

"Yashasvi Jaiswal played extremely well. He played many cut shots, scored a lot of runs with them, and got out to that as well. KL Rahul got out. Karun Nair missed out. He looked alright, but thirties are not going to be enough. Pant plays like Pant. He gets out. Jadeja is still there," he said in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that India need to post a 550-plus total, considering they have Washington Sundar batting at No. 8.

"I don't think either team is far ahead. Make 550 to 600 runs. You completely bat them out of the Test match, and that's why you played Washi. If Washi is going to come at No. 8, anything below 550 won't work out. Looking at it from that point of view, we are still far away from the desired target," Chopra observed.

India suffered collapses in both innings of the first Test, losing 41 runs for seven wickets in the first innings and six wickets for 31 runs in the second innings. They will hope that their lower order fares better on Day 2 of the second Test.