Shabman Gul He is enjoying the best period of his Test career since taking over the captaincy of the Indian team. The right-hander has turned into a run-scoring machine in red ball cricket, leading from the front with one impressive performance after another.Gayle’s latest century against Afghanistan further cemented his incredible record as a Test captain. The Indian skipper has scored 1,076 runs in just 15 innings as captain, at an average of 82.76, a figure that ranks him among the greatest in the history of the format.Having succeeded Rohit Sharma as India’s 37th Test captain, Gayle has made a dream start to his tenure as captain. He became only the 11th Indian captain to reach 1,000 Test runs by crossing the milestone in just 15 innings, the second fastest among Indian captains after Sunil Gavaskar, who achieved the feat in 14 innings. Gayle also became the fastest Indian captain in terms of time, needing just 351 days to cross the 1,000-run mark.The highlight of his captaincy so far came during India’s five-Test tour of England. Leading the team in his first assignment, Gayle scored 754 runs in the entire series as India bounced back to draw 2–2. He also wrote his name in the history books by becoming the first Indian captain to win a Test match at Edgbaston.His impressive run has now catapulted him into elite company. Among captains with at least 1,000 Test runs, Gayle currently holds the second-highest batting average in Test history, behind only the legendary Don Bradman.
| the player | Average |
|---|---|
| Don Bradman | 101.5 |
| Shabman Gul | 82.8 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 69.6 |
| Steven Smith | 68.1 |
| Mahila Jayawardene | 59.1 |
India vs Afghanistan: First Innings Summary
Gayle’s excellent form continued in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, where he once again led from the front with the captain’s knock. India declared their first innings at 564/8 in 127 overs during the second session of the second day after a brilliant batting display.Top performersShubman Gill (c): 126 (177 balls, 15 fours, 1 six)KL Rahul: 100 (165 balls, 11 fours)Sai Sudharsan: 81 (104 balls, 13 fours)Rishabh Pant: 81 (121 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes)Washington Sundar: 52 (62 balls, 6 fours)*
