India’s squad had undeniable talent, but its inexperience – especially in batting under challenging conditions – was a concern.
KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant were seasoned campaigners in England, but Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudarshan, Karun Nair, Washington Sundar, and Abhimanyu Easwaran had never played at this level there before.
Gill’s modest overseas batting record fuelled doubts about his suitability for captaincy. Added worries over pace ace Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness further dimmed India’s prospects.
Losing the first Test at Headingley from a winning position, as England chased 373 in the fourth innings, confirmed pundits’ doubts.
But India recovered from this setback in style to win the next Test at Edgbaston by a whopping 336 runs.
The swift turnaround came not from luck but skill and relentless determination – qualities that defined India’s performance for the rest of the series.
The three Tests that followed were bitterly fought, both teams raising the intensity and skill levels, matching each other blow-for-blow.
This sparked frequent heated clashes but also unforgettable acts of heroism, with players from both sides battling fatigue and injury to keep their teams in the fight.
Some aspects of what kept India in the fight right through the neck-and-neck contest comes through in the stats.
Three batsmen – Gill, Rahul and Jadeja – topped 500 runs in the series. England had one, Joe Root.
There were 12 centuries made by India, England had nine.
Mohammed Siraj with 23 was the highest wicket-taker from either side. The only bowler to take 10 wickets in a match was Akash Deep.
Failures were scant, heroes were plenty, but the pillars of India’s extraordinary show in the series were Gill and Siraj.
Gill, in Bradmanesque form, made 754 runs, 430 of them coming in one Test.
He failed by a mere 20 runs to break Sunil Gavaskar’s record series aggregate, and was also second to Don Bradman (810) for highest runs made in a series by a captain.
To be mentioned alongside Bradman and Gavaskar testifies to Gill’s achievement and potential. His prolific scoring earned his team’s full respect, and after a hesitant start, he quickly grew in confidence, showing fine temperament and smart tactics in tough situations.