Shubman Gill Joins Graham Gooch In Cricket's Most Exclusive Captains' Club

Shubman Gill in Edgbaston Test, Birmingham [Source: AP Photos]

In the 148-year history of Test cricket, only nine players have ever managed to score both a double century and a century in the same match. This extraordinary feat displays not only the exceptional skill set but also remarkable stamina and concentration across multiple days of gruelling cricket.

What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is that among these nine legendary performances, only two were achieved by players who were captaining their respective teams. The additional pressure of leadership, tactical decision-making, and responsibility for team performance makes scoring big runs exponentially more challenging; however, these two players displayed brilliance at their peak and achieved the rarest of feats.

A Truly Elite Achievement

Doug Walters was the first to achieve this milestone as a player for Australia against the West Indies in 1969. Since then, only eight other players have managed to replicate the feat across more than five decades of cricket. The gap between achievements speaks volumes about its difficulty. Some years saw multiple double centuries scored by different players, yet none managed to score a century and a double century in a single Test. 

Players like Sunil Gavaskar achieved it during his historic tour of the West Indies in 1971. Among the more recent achievers, the list includes notable entries such as Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, and Marnus Labuschagne.

The Exclusive Captain's Club

As mentioned above, in the entire pantheon of Test cricket, only two players have achieved this feat while being at the helm of the side. This remarkable rarity highlights the efforts of the most recent entrant on the list - Shubman Gill. 

Graham Gooch (England vs India, At Lord's, 1990): He was the first captain to achieve this milestone, scoring 333 and 123 against India at the Home of Cricket, the Lord's Cricket Ground. His combined total of 456 runs in the game remains a world record for most runs by a player in a single Test Match. Notably, in the first innings, Graham Gooch was dropped on 36 by Kiran More, after which he never looked back and tumbled records like a pack of cards.

Shubman Gill (England vs India, At Edgbaston, 2025): 35 years later, Shubman Gill has taken the revenge for his nation. Yesterday, when Gill crossed 100 in the second innings of the second Test, he became only the second captain ever to score a double hundred and a hundred in the same Test match. The achievement is even more notable when it is realised that he is the first captain in Test cricket history to score 200+ and 150+ in the same game.

A Testament to Leadership Excellence

The rarity of captains achieving this feat, with only two in nearly 2,500 Test matches played since 1877, demonstrates the exceptional nature of the record. While Gooch achieved the double century-century combination, Gill stands alone as the only captain in cricket history to score 200+ and 150+ runs in the same Test. More remarkably, he is the first batter in the entire 148-year history of Test cricket to achieve the 200+ and 150+ milestones in same Test, making his achievement unprecedented in the annals of the game.

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