- 7/6/2025
Speaking to IndiaToday.in, Sunil Gavaskar said he would be more than happy if Shubman Gill breaks his record for most runs by an Indian in a Test series. The batting great backed Gill to go past Donald Bradman's all-time tally of 974 runs and go for 100 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Gill scored 430 runs in the second Test, which India won by 336 runs.
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00:00What a day it is for Indian cricket. If you score 336 runs in a test match, that's considered a massive, massive total.
00:10Guess what India have done in it, bastard? They've not just scored 336 runs, they've scored much more than that.
00:16They have beaten England by a margin of 336 runs, and which is why this is not a win, this is a shellacking.
00:25That's what India have managed to do to this English team.
00:29And remember, odds were stacked against this Indian team. Why were they stacked against this Indian team?
00:34For plenty of reasons. The first and foremost reason that you can think of was the fact that India had lost the previous test match in Leeds.
00:43It was a heartbreaking loss for the Indian team that came in Leeds, and despite that heartbreaking loss,
00:52they've turned around the series and made it one-all.
00:55Remember, this is also a young Indian team that has travelled to England without the two stalwarts in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli,
01:04both of whom have retired from test cricket.
01:07This was going to test the mettle of this young Indian team,
01:10and what they've shown is that the future is certainly bright for India,
01:15not just in the shorter formats which India have been doing rather well at,
01:18but also in the longest format of the game.
01:21For the next half an hour, we're going to analyse this famous win by India at Edgbaston.
01:27We'll bring you all the highlights, how this test was won.
01:30We'll take a full recap into this test match,
01:33also show you the three big stars for India in this test match,
01:36but most importantly, we'll be joined by former India captain in Sunil Gavaskar,
01:42who will break this test match down for us, and we'll analyse this famous win for India.
01:48Sahibai, let's start off with you before we look at how this test match was won.
01:53I spoke about that Leeds test.
01:55It was a heartbreaking loss for the Indian team, that entire test match.
01:59Both teams were neck and neck.
02:01India go 1-0 down, but look at this test match.
02:04What a turnaround. Would you say this is a win for the ages?
02:10Oh, yes. I mean, look at the margin of the win as well.
02:14It is not a margin where they're won by a couple of wickets or they're won by a few runs.
02:19It's a massive, massive win.
02:21And so it is something which actually has sent a message to England and the cricketing world
02:28that yes, on the odd occasion, India can lose,
02:32but they will come back very, very strong like they have in this game at Birmingham.
02:37And remember, Birmingham was the fortress as far as India and England matches were concerned.
02:43And India has never won a game over here.
02:45So therefore, to break that jinx and to win by this huge margin,
02:51you know, full, absolutely, you know, heartfelt congratulations to the Indian team.
02:56If I was to look back at this particular test match, Sanibai, one thing really stands out.
03:04That test match in Leeds, they made three major errors.
03:07The Indian team won.
03:08Their lower order failed to capitalize.
03:11They did not contribute with the bat as they should have.
03:14Secondly, they were unable, the Indian bowlers were unable to dismiss the lower order of the opposition team.
03:21And third was India's fielding.
03:24These were three major areas of concern for the Indian team in the Leeds test match.
03:29This particular test match, as I see it, all these three areas have been taken care of.
03:34Not only did the Indian lower order contribute,
03:36you had the Indian bowlers dismiss the opposition tail, catchers were caught.
03:40Do you think this is the major reason, you know, fixing those major issues that you had,
03:46which has resulted in this win?
03:47Oh, definitely, yes.
03:51I think, you know, I mean, look, in sport you will keep making mistakes.
03:57And sometimes you will repeat the same mistakes because that is the nature of sport.
04:00And that is, you know, what individuals are.
04:03You can practice as much as you can, but you still get out sometimes in the same manner.
04:08You can practice catching and throwing as much as you can,
04:10but you'll still miss the odd catch and you'll miss another catch.
04:13So that is, you know, expected in sport.
04:17But when you minimize errors, and this is what has happened in this game,
04:21the errors have been absolutely minimized, almost to nothing.
04:25The catches have been taken, runs have been scored by number 7, 8, 9,
04:29you know, whether you have Jadeja and Washington Sundar making a contribution.
04:33So everybody has, you know, contributed.
04:36And that's why this massive win.
04:37Okay, let's take a look at some of those individual performers, Sunnybhai.
04:42I know there'll be two contenders for the man of the match.
04:44One, Shubhman Gill, 400 plus runs.
04:47The other, of course, is going to be Akash Teep.
04:49Gets 10 wickets, picks up 4 in the first inning,
04:52and then 6 wickets in the second innings.
04:54My question to you is about Akash Teep.
04:57He did not play that Leeds test match.
04:58Who knows what the result of that match would have been had he played.
05:01But a word on his performance here in Edgbaston.
05:08Brilliant, brilliant.
05:10You know, again, see in Australia, he bowled well.
05:13But even in Australia, I was saying that his bowling was more like,
05:17say for T20 cricket or one-day cricket.
05:20It was economical.
05:22But in test cricket, what you want is not an economy rate.
05:26In test cricket, what you want is a strike rate.
05:28And the difference has simply been that he has made the batter play
05:32a lot more than he did in Australia.
05:35Australia, the lengths were, you know, right,
05:38but just a little bit outside the off-stump.
05:40So the batters were playing and missing, and it looked very good.
05:42But he wasn't getting wickets.
05:44Here, he's made the batter play, and that has been the big difference.
05:47So the batter playing, he's edged the ball.
05:49The batter playing, a little bit forward.
05:51The ball's nicked back in, which is his main delivery,
05:53the one that, you know, nips back in.
05:55And he's been magnificent.
05:57To pick the wickets that he has, has been absolutely tremendous.
06:02Sahiba, you talk about Akashdeep's performance in the Bodhagavaskar Trophy.
06:07I know it's never easy to really predict the future of any player.
06:10These are early days for Akashdeep,
06:12but you saw him in the Bodhagavaskar Trophy.
06:14You've seen him in the first test match that he's played of this series.
06:17How do you reckon the future will go for a bowler as talented as Akashdeep?
06:22It depends on the conditions.
06:27It depends on, you know, the luck that he has in terms of catching some of the decisions,
06:31the LBW, all those decisions that can go sometimes against you.
06:35But, you know, he's got the line, he's got the length,
06:37and above all, he's got a big heart.
06:40You can see that from this performance.
06:42He's got a big heart.
06:43And, you know, for a fast bowler,
06:45to be able to have a big heart and bowl on pitches like this,
06:49like, you know, I mean, you've seen that in the three innings that we saw,
06:53there'd be nothing for the batters, for the bowlers at all.
06:58His spin, beg your pardon, his fast bowling twin in this test match,
07:06Mohamed Siraj, picked up six wickets in the first innings,
07:11of course, gets that one wicket in the second innings as well.
07:14Siraj, unlike Akashdeep, played that first test match in Leeds,
07:18wasn't as effective, picked up two wickets in that entire duration of that test match.
07:22What do you think, Mohamed Siraj,
07:24of course, is the other thing that you see,
07:26loves to take responsibility.
07:27I was taking a look at some stats.
07:29Every time Jaspreet Bumrah is not there,
07:31he ends up picking a lot of wickets.
07:32Apart from that,
07:33what do you think Siraj did differently in this test match compared to that first?
07:39Again, the line and the length.
07:41The lines and the length in Leeds were perhaps a little bit different,
07:44but again, the pitch was different.
07:45So, the pitch at Leeds had a little for the bowlers.
07:50So, there was the odd ball that was kicking through.
07:52There was the odd ball that was moving around.
07:54So, he was looking to maybe,
07:55he was maybe trying a little too hard
07:57and not quite hitting the right line and the right length.
08:00But now, in Bumrah's absence,
08:03he took the responsibility as the senior bowler
08:05and changed that line and length just subtly
08:08so that he was able to take those wickets.
08:10Look at the wickets that he had, LBW.
08:11He had batters being caught as well.
08:15The delivery to get Ben Stokes out to the bouncer
08:18was an absolutely incredible delivery.
08:20So, all in all, a super performance from this whole-hearted fast bowler.
08:25After a good performance,
08:29usually, you know, good performance are there to be celebrated
08:31as these two bowlers' performance will also be celebrated.
08:34But with it comes a bit of a headache too
08:37because the other good news is that India's pair spearhead,
08:41Jaspreet Bumrah,
08:41most likely is going to be available for that Lord's Test match.
08:45Jaspreet Bumrah comes in.
08:47Siraj has had a great performance.
08:49Akashdeep has had a great performance.
08:50Who goes out for you then?
08:55I think it's clear.
08:57I think Prasid Krishna will have to make way
08:58because in the first inning,
09:00he was a bit expensive,
09:02even in Leeds,
09:03although he got a few wickets.
09:05He really didn't look as if he was going to break through.
09:08While with Akashdeep and Mohamed Siraj,
09:10you've seen the number of top-class deliveries
09:12that they've bought.
09:13And they might have not got a wicket played and missed
09:15or wrapped on the pads.
09:17So I think Prasid,
09:17because his length was not quite right,
09:21I believe that he will make way for Bumrah.
09:25Of course, as we're calling this,
09:28the bastion of this English cricket team,
09:32edge bastion has been breached.
09:34And why is it that we're saying that?
09:36We're saying that simply because
09:38in the previous eight attempts
09:40that the Indian team had
09:41at this very ground in Birmingham,
09:43they were unable to win a test match.
09:46The best that any Indian team,
09:48teams that had, you know,
09:50the great Kapil Deves,
09:51the Sunil Gavaskar,
09:53before that,
09:54Virat Kohli's of the world,
09:56and then Rohit Sharma's.
09:58Everyone has stored Rahul Dravid
10:00and Sachin Tindulkar.
10:01Previous generations,
10:03never could any team win a game here
10:05in Birmingham at edge bastion.
10:07And so this was really a fortress
10:09of the English cricket team.
10:11And this young team under Shubhman Gail
10:14has breached that fortress.
10:16They have really conquered
10:17that final bastion of this English cricket team.
10:21And that is why we are celebrating
10:23this particular victory of the Indian team.
10:26We're going to be taking a closer look
10:28at some of the top performers
10:30of the Indian team.
10:31As I mentioned right at the start,
10:33there were really three heroes.
10:34Some of them you're seeing
10:35on your screens right now.
10:37You've got an Akash Teep.
10:40You have Mohamed Siraj
10:42that picked up wickets.
10:43And then you also had Shubhman Gail
10:46getting close to 400 runs
10:49in this particular test match.
10:51We still have Mr. Gavaskar with us
10:53live on our broadcast.
10:56And Saiwai, because we were talking
10:59about various good performers,
11:01let's turn our attention now
11:02to Shubhman Gail.
11:05He was this young captain
11:06taking this young team to England.
11:08Clearly, captaincy has had a great effect
11:10on Shubhman Gail, the batter.
11:12He doesn't just seem to stop scoring
11:15ever since he's become the test captain.
11:17Yes, I mean, he's got 100 in the first
11:22in his first test as captain
11:23and now a century in each inning, sir.
11:26So captaincy sits lightly on his shoulders.
11:30And, you know, he's got a pleasant air
11:34about him on the field as well.
11:36Yes, he's very competitive.
11:38Yes, when he's on the field,
11:39he wants wickets.
11:41But there is just that pleasant air
11:42about him, which makes life also easy
11:44for all those who are playing under him.
11:47And I do believe that he does not
11:49really have to change his style,
11:52what he is.
11:53The calmness that he shows
11:55while batting is the calmness
11:56that he has brought to the captaincy.
11:58And that is the style that he should stick to
12:01because that is a style that works well for him.
12:03We have seen it.
12:04Even in Leeds, India lost.
12:08But look at the number of runs
12:09that they scored.
12:10India lost because the catches didn't stick.
12:12The fielding was not quite good.
12:13And as we saw, the lower order
12:15did contribute those 40-50 runs
12:17that could have made the difference.
12:19Just sticking on with Shubhman Gill's
12:21captaincy, Zainabhai,
12:23there was this one record
12:24that we've celebrated for so many years
12:26that belongs to you.
12:28774 runs in a test match series.
12:31Four test matches.
12:32You got it against West Indies.
12:33That's never been broken.
12:34But, you know, records are meant to be broken.
12:37Shubhman Gill, 585 already.
12:39Just two test matches in.
12:41Still, you know, you've got three test matches to go.
12:45Worthy contender to break your record.
12:46Oh, yes.
12:50I think at Lord's is probably, you know,
12:55where it will go as well.
12:57And really a worthy contender
12:58because, look, there is purity of technique in his patting.
13:02He's got all the shots in the book.
13:04Front foot, back foot.
13:05He's, you know, and more importantly,
13:07he's got this, you know, wonderful ability
13:09to shoulder the, you know,
13:13the responsibility of playing the way
13:16that the team needs.
13:17So, clearly, I think records are meant to be broken.
13:22I would be delighted that another SG takes that record.
13:27SG, that's right.
13:28And if you want, if you want, if you want,
13:30you can break his name, you know,
13:32his first name into two.
13:34So, make it chop, man, gills.
13:38That also becomes SMG.
13:39Ah, that is a lovely wordplay.
13:41I expect nothing less from the great Sonny Gavaskar.
13:44That's right.
13:45Another SMG to break the record
13:46of the original SMG,
13:49who is still live with us.
13:50I'm talking about breaking of records.
13:52Of course, you hold the India record, 774.
13:55The record, 974.
13:58Most runs ever in a five-test match series
14:00belongs to who else but the great,
14:02Sir Don Bradman.
14:03And that also doesn't seem a far cry at the moment.
14:07He's just, what, I think 390-odd runs short
14:11with three test matches to go.
14:12You wouldn't bet against Gail Breeding
14:14that record too, would you?
14:18Yeah, I think more than that,
14:19what would be amazing would be
14:22being the first ever batter to get 1,000 runs
14:24in a test series.
14:26So, I think he's got six more innings.
14:28Maybe not unless India is going to win by innings
14:30in the next couple of games.
14:31But at least six innings,
14:33minimum six innings ahead of him.
14:36And the kind of form that he's shown in,
14:38there's every hope that this young man
14:40can set up records
14:41that will be virtually impossibly great.
14:44Okay, Sahiva, now the series is won all.
14:50Of course, India started this particular series
14:52as the underdog.
14:55But now that it's won all,
14:57this Indian team showed a, you know,
15:00great version of themselves in that first test match.
15:02Second, of course, they've gone on to win
15:04and dominated that test match.
15:06Where do you see this series go from here?
15:08Is it on an even keel or has any side now taken an edge?
15:11I think it's on an even keel.
15:17Look, India's got the bowling to take advantage
15:20of, you know, grassy pitches.
15:22India's got the batting to be able to handle that.
15:25That we saw at Leeds, we've seen it over here.
15:28So, all in all, I think what was needed really
15:30was a little bit of improvement in the fielding,
15:32a little bit of contribution down the order
15:34from the batters.
15:36And that's what India got in this game.
15:37And that's why this massive win.
15:40Finally, Zayma, before we let you go,
15:42and this is just a larger question.
15:44Remember, because we're looking at this series,
15:46the context to this series was that
15:48this is a young Indian team.
15:50This has gone without its two stalwarts
15:52in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli.
15:54Now, the performance of this young Indian team
15:57doesn't matter where the series goes from here.
16:00Has it allied the fears of anyone
16:02who had any doubts about the future of Indian cricket?
16:06They can feel secure that, yes,
16:08the future is secure with this young team,
16:10even though they've gone without two players
16:12who've just recently retired?
16:16Well, the history of cricket has shown,
16:19it's not now, history of cricket has shown
16:21that there is nobody who is indispensable.
16:24Nobody.
16:25So, there is always going to be somebody
16:27or the other who will come.
16:28Yes, we will miss all those wonderful players,
16:31no question about it,
16:32because they've given us so many thrills,
16:34they've given us so many wins.
16:35But nobody, nobody in the history of the game,
16:39not Sir Don Bradman, not Sir Garfield Sobers,
16:43you know, nobody,
16:44and I'll stop at that,
16:46because these have been two absolutely the greatest,
16:48I'll stop at that,
16:49but nobody in this game is indispensable.
16:52Why?
16:53I mean, when Bumrah didn't play this game,
16:56who thought that India would have the capability
16:59of taking 20 wickets?
17:00So, nobody is indispensable.
17:04All right, Mr. Gavaskar, we'll leave it at that.
17:05Thank you so much for sharing those insights.
17:08And as he summed it up,
17:10you know, no one is really...
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