As India gear up to face South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens from Friday, skipper Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will have individual milestones in sight alongside the team’s push to strengthen their ICC World Test Championship campaign. India enter the series on the back of consistent red-ball form, with a home win against West Indies and a drawn series against England before that. With both teams looking to make an early statement in the two-match series, the opening Test in Kolkata holds added significance for India’s key performers. Gill, who has been in sublime touch this year, needs 161 runs to reach the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket. The right-hander has so far racked up 2,839 runs in 39 matches at an average of 43.01, including 10 centuries and eight fifties. His best score of 269 remains a career highlight. In 2025, the Indian captain has already scored 979 runs in 15 innings at an impressive average of 69.92, with five centuries and a fifty. KL Rahul, returning to the format as a reliable opener, is just 15 runs short of 4,000 in Tests. In 65 appearances, he has accumulated 3,985 runs at 36.55, registering 11 hundreds and 20 half-centuries, with a top score of 199. This year has been his best in the format, scoring 745 runs in eight Tests at an average of 53.21, including three centuries and three fifties. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, too, stands on the brink of a rare double. The left-hander has scored 3,990 runs in 87 Tests at an average of 38.73, with six centuries and 27 fifties. With 338 wickets to his name, Jadeja is just 12 shy of 350, and will be a feat that would make him only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to achieve the combination of 4,000 runs and 350 wickets in Tests.
Poll
Will Shubman Gill reach the 3,000-run milestone in this Test?
India will be looking to carry their momentum into the series opener, with milestones adding an extra layer of motivation for some of the top names at Eden Gardens.India squad for first Test: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash DeepSouth Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne
