Saturday, 21 June 2025
Saturday, 21 June 2025
Shubman Gill etched his name into the record books on Friday as he scored a century on Test captaincy debut against England. Not out at 127 at the end of Day 1, during the 1st Test at Leeds, Gill became the first Indian captain since Virat Kohli and the fifth overall to score a century on captaincy debut.
Here are the five Indian captains who scored a ton in their maiden Test as captain.
Shubman Gill
This test is not just Gill’s first match as captain but also his first match batting at no. 4, which was held by Virat Kohli for over a decade and Sachin Tendulkar before him. Gill had big shoes to fill and a lot of critics to silence. Walking in to bat in the second session, he played the aggressor’s role putting up a 129 run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal. He followed it up with a 138 run unbeaten stand with vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli’s captaincy debut was a trial by fire in Australia. Playing as India’s stand-in skipper with MS Dhoni out for the first Test in Adelaide due to injury., Kohli scored twin centuries in that Test. He scored 115 in the first innings and topped up with a knock of 141 in the second in an attempt to chase 364. India lost by 48 runs but Kohli’s knock announced that India wouldn’t be dominated anymore in overseas conditions.
Dilip Vengsarkar
Taking over the Indian captaincy ahead of the home series against West Indies in 1987, Dilip Vengsarkar’s start wasn’t as smooth. In the first innings India was all out for 75, with Vengsarkar being the third highest scorer with 10 runs.
In the second innings, he scored a 102 run knock before being knocked over by Courtney Walsh. The skipper’s knock gave India a fighting chance in Delhi as the visitors had to chase 276. Viv Richards smashed 109 runs to ensure Vengsarkar’s captaincy stint started with a loss.
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar’s captaincy started with a match winning ton against New Zealand in 1976. In the first innings at Auckland, Gavaskar scored 116 runs. India scored 414 runs in their first innings, leaving the Kiwis a lot of work to do. India won after chasing 68 runs in their second innings.
Vijay Hazare
Vijay Hazare captained India for the first time in 1951, in a Test against England at Delhi. India scored 418 runs in the second innings and Hazare scored a 164*.
