WATCH: Shubman Gill Gifts Wicket To England After Horror Brainfade

After four Tests without an ounce of grass on the surface, we finally got the first green top of the series today at The Oval, in the fifth and final Test. And England won yet another crucial toss and sent India into bat.

England got Yashasvi Jaiswal early and KL Rahul cheaply, but some wayward bowling meant that India managed to get away despite the conditions being extremely bowler-friendly: they were 83/2 after 27 overs, a score they would happily have taken if you had offered it to them at the start of play. 

Everything, then, was going well for the Indian side, but all that changed in an instant when Shubman Gill self-destructed in horror fashion, running himself out in what was a moment of madness. 

Having gotten off to 21* off 34 balls, having set a new all-time India record, Gill looked set for another big score but he endured a massive brainfade in the 28th over of the day. 

The right-hander blocked a good length delivery from Gus Atkinson, and put on his skates and took off for a single when there clearly wasn’t one. The non-striker Sai Sudharsan called a loud NO, but it was too late by then as Gill had almost run halfway up the pitch. To make things worse, he was slow to turn as he slipped ever so slightly as he looked to turn. 

Atkinson got to the ball in an instant and then unleashed a pin-point throw that disturbed the stumps. And just like that, Gill perished. 

A moment of madness from Shubman Gill!

Gus Atkinson throws down the stumps with the India captain stranded.

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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2025

The Indian skipper could not believe what he had just done, having put in so much hard work to survive the tough period up-front against the new ball. The big irony was that it came when Sudharsan was at the other end, his opening partner in the IPL and someone he’s batted a total of 1,434 balls with across formats.