“The best thing Gill did was lose the toss” - Former captain’s massive claim after 336-run win in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former captain Michael Vaughan opined that Shubman Gill losing the toss to England skipper Ben Stokes in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, turned out to be a massive blessing in disguise. Availing the chance to bat in the first couple of days of the Test, the Men in Blue had ideal conditions to work with, and scored a mammoth 587 in the first innings, playing over 150 overs.

In reply, England had to deal with fatigue and a dented confidence against India's revamped bowling attack. They failed to make the most of the conditions as the visitors did and ended up falling well short of the first innings score. Ben Stokes and co. were constantly lagging in the game, eventually losing the plot and suffering a heavy 336-run defeat.

England head coach Brendon McCullum admitted that the team erred by opting to bowl first. A similar decision had worked out well for the hosts at Headingley, Leeds, after they chased down 371 in the fourth innings, but it backfired in this instance.

Michael Vaughan hailed Shubman Gill's captaincy, rating him a 25 out of 10, while jokingly adding that his biggest contribution was losing the toss.

"You kind of look at a captain and think, 'Could he have done anything better?' Absolutely not. The best thing Gill did was lose the toss. His tactical awareness, like giving Washington Sundar that over, the short ball theory to Akash Deep to Smith in the second innings, you can't have a better week than the Shubman Gill had. If you ask me, it will be 25 out of 10, because you cannot have a better week. He was absolutely perfection," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

He also brought up the fact that Gill was also looking to bowl first had he won the toss in Edgbaston.

"His body language, I know his team were on top, but he led that to allow his team to be on top with that huge score in the first innings. The only thing that surprised me about Shubman this week was saying that he was actually looking to bowl first at the toss. I can't get my head around that, but he got lucky," he added.

Gill is yet to win a toss as Test captain, after making the wrong call twice in a row. He had won four of the five tosses during his maiden venture as India captain in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, but he has a dismal 35.71 win percentage when it comes to tosses in the Indian Premier League (IPL), across the last two seasons.

"He knew it was not enough" - Michael Vaughan on Shubman Gill eyeing a massive first innings total even after reaching 400

Team India had suffered twin collapses in the first Test, preventing them from building a lead that was beyond England's reach. However, in the second Test, Shubman Gill led from the front in terms of run-scoring and ensured India made the most of their reinforced batting depth.

The visitors slammed 587 in the first innings after being reduced to 211-5 on Day 1. In the second innings also, India stretched their innings to the limit to finish with 427-6, eventually declaring to hand England a 608-run target.

"You could just tell once this team got to 400, he knew it was not enough. He knew they needed a big big score and and he drove the team forward. When you get such a big first innings score, you are controlling the game," Vaughan said.

India levelled the series 1-1 with a historic win at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The third Test of the series will take place at Lord's, scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 10.