Shubman Gill, India’s Test captain, scored 50 off 100 balls on the second day of the first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad. In the process, he also became the first Indian captain to score 50+ on their home captaincy debut since Sunil Gavaskar, who made 205 against West Indies at the Wankhede in 1978.

The India vs West Indies was a good start and for the home side, as the batting collapse of the West Indies, with a total of 162, offered them an advantage. Earlier, Shubman Gill proved his Test captaincy on English soil, in the five-match Test series against England, which resulted in a draw, with two losses, two wins and one hard-fought draw. Shubman Gill finished the Test series with 754 runs, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar’s 732 runs as a captain against West Indies in 1978-79, a record which has been kept untouched for 47 years.

Shubman Gill achieved another feat as a Test captain, on home soil against the West Indies in Ahmedabad, where he scored a half-century and was dismissed for 50 runs, just when he was about to attempt a reverse sweep shot. Before him, the last Indian captain to score fifty or more in a debut innings on home soil was Sunil Gavaskar, who achieved this at the Wankhede Stadium against West Indies in 1978, scoring a double century of 203 runs.

Shubman Gill and KL Rahul were crucial in the 98-run partnership, which helped to stabilise India’s innings, which were not far from the domination of pace duo- Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, with four and three wickets respectively.

This marks the start of India’s home season, with another two-match Test series against South Africa lined up next.