Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Shubman Gill's 161 in 2nd innings of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test ft. Michael Vaughan

Shubman Gill is in the form of his life. The Indian Test captain scored 161 runs in the second innings of the ongoing Test against England in Birmingham. He scored the said runs at an astounding strike rate of 99.38 and smashed 13 boundaries and eight maximums.

India's number four scored 430 runs in the match, the highest for the country in a single Test.

Gill started his innings cautiously and let Rishabh Pant do the bulk of the scoring early on. Post reaching his century, the 25-year-old counter-attacked and toyed with the English bowling attack.

Gill earned plenty of praise from the cricket fraternity for his magnificent century. Here are five of the best reactions from experts:

---

#1 Michael Vaughan

The former England captain, now a cricket analyst, analyzed Gill's knock on Cricbuzz. Here is what he said: (5.19)

" Whenever a bowler bowls a good ball, Shubhman just gets with a forward defense and gets past that. When the bowler tries one or two things, Shubhman has got the answer. He has got the answer on the back foot. He has got the answer on the off-side. He has got the determination . The determination of his defense allows him to attack.

The England bowlers have looked clueless against the Indian captain so far in the five-match series.

---

#2 David Lloyd

Former England cricketer David Lloyd, in his column for the Daily Mail at the end of Day 4, wrote:

"People say world-class players are irreplaceable, but are they? This is a real case of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’ Shubman Gill has taken over seamlessly from one of the greatest modern batsmen in Virat Kohli and in style too. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is always box office and has taken India to the next level after MS Dhoni."

Indeed, Gill has been incredible batting for India at number four in the ongoing Test series. He has seamlessly stepped into the shoes of Virat Kohli, who retired just before the series began.

---

#3 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has impressed one and all with his sharp commentary and analysis of the game. The former Indian keeper-batter, who is on commentary duties during the India-England Test series, praised Gill for his performances in the series, especially after stepping into the shoes of former greats like Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

"This series has been everything that you need to be. Batting at number four you have had some legends over a period of time, consistent players over decades. Tendulkar, then Virat Kohli and now Gill. Those were big shoes to fill. The way he has walked in there, found himself very comfortable along with responsibility of being the captain has been the best part of this Test series from an Indian standpoint".

---

#4 Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad, one of the finest seamers in Test cricket over the past decade, was in awe of Gill's knock. He said on Sky Sports: (6.00)

"He will be wondering why he opened the batting early on in his career. Coming in at number four and done what he has done is outrageous. As a bowler I am looking for little technical things that he can be exposed. He has not shown any obvious signs of way of dismissal."

Heaping further praise on Gill, Broad added: (6.19)

"He has played stylishly. Has has played with huge responsibility in his first two Tests as Indian captain. Its breathtaking to be honest. He deserves all the applaud he is going to get."

---

#5 Aakash Chopra

The former India opener lavished praise on the Indian Test skipper for his stellar knock on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra'.

Chopra said: (2.39)

"The one thing less celebrated is the appetitte of score runs. Gill's innings rather both innings of the Test reflect his hunger to score runs. After scoring 250 in the first innings, one gets drained both physcially and mentally. He was so close to a 300. You tend to get complacent. But he was the one with hunger and made it count in the second innings."

He added: (3.40)

"Depsite of it being a flat pitch, a flat bowling attack, it is pertinent to note that only one Indian batter has scored a 100 in the Test i.e. Gill. This is the same wicket when the opponent batter had six ducks in the innings. England top order struggled. This is a story of Gill's hunger and desire."

Gill's 430 runs in the match puts him only behind England great Graham Gooch (456) for the most runs accumulated in a single match.