England v India at Headingley 1st Test Match June 20-25
Neil Whitaker reports
Day 1June 21, 2025 10:45 am
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes won the toss and that was the only thing that went England’s way on the first day as India reached 359 for three at the close of day one at Headingley.
There were centuries for Yashaui Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill. Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 65 and passed 3,000 Test runs. Just for good measure KL Rahul weighed in with 42.
Jaiswal hit his fifth century against England when he dabbed Brydon Carse into the covers for a single to bring up his fifth Test hundred from 144 balls in 230 minutes with 14 fours and a six. With his captain Gill they added 129 in 27 overs before the partnership was broken by Stokes bowling around the wicket knocked back Yaiswal’s off stump. England thought they had him on 23 when he was wrapped on the pads by Josh Tongue. England reviewed it and the replay showed it to be pitching outside leg stump and going down the legside.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed all my centuries but hitting my first in England is a special moment. Me and Gill were trying to play it session by session. I enjoyed batting with him. He is amazing and is very calm and composed.”
Despite suffering from cramp in his hands Yaiswal cut Carse to the cover boundary to take him into the nervous 90’s. He drove Carse off the front foot to the cover boundary to take him to 99.
Carse got away with a full toss to Jaiswal but didn’t with the next ball when Jaiswal hammered him to the cover boundary. The third ball in a wayward over was tickled by Jaiswal to the fine leg boundary. Jaiswal worked Tongue off his hips for a single to bring up his 20th Test 50 and his sixth against England. This one came from 96 balls with eight fours.
After being put in both Jaiswal and KL Rahul showed no nerves and Jaiswal pushed Tongue off his back foot to the long-off boundary for his shot of the first hour.
Jaiswal late cut Shoaib Bashir’s first ball into the attack to the point boundary. In the next over he cut Tongue over the point boundary for the first six of the match. Jaiswal smashed Shoaib Bashir straight past the bowler for a one bounce four into the Howard stand to bring up the hundred partnership with Gill off 123 balls.
Gill became the fifth Indian captain to hit a century on his debut as a Test captain. It was his sixth Test century and his first outside Asia. He reached his century when he drilled Tongue to the mid-wicket boundary for one of his 14 boundaries in his ton. Later in the over he pulled Tongue over fine leg for a six.
Getting close to his century Gill chased a wide delivery from Tongue and clipped the next mid-wicket and set off for a single before getting sent back when he was halfway down the pitch.
On one the Indian captain Gill pushed Carse out into the offside in the first full over after lunch and set Carse to theoff for a single. If Ollie Pope’s throw had hit Gill would have been run out by a mile. He hit consecutive fours off Chris Woakes the first was straight and the second was clipped through mid-wicket then he sublimely drove Woakes straight to the boundary.
Gill delightfully hit three fours off Stokes to take him into the 40’s and to take the partnership with Jaiswal to 66. He pulled Tongue to the mid-wicket boundary to bring up his eighth Test 50 and his first as India’s captain. His 50 came from 56 balls with eight fours.
England put India into bat on a gorgeous day in Leeds because recent history shows the pitch at Headingley gets better as the match goes on. They nearly had an early breakthrough when KL Rahul went hard at Carse and the ball flew through point for a boundary.
KL Rahul drove Woakes to the extra cover boundary for the shot of the morning. He flashed hard at Stokes and the ball flew over the slips to the third man boundary and he guided the next ball on the ground through the slips to the boundary. He drove Stokes beautifully to the cover boundary.
On the stroke of lunch India lost two wickets in six balls. First to go was RL Rahul who edged a drive off Carse and Joe Root at first slip took a comfortable tumbling catch at first slip.
Bhardwaj Sai Sudharsan, on his Test debut,who after suffering a catch by Smith down the legside glanced the next ball from Stokes off his legs to Jamie Smith diving to his left.
Vice-captain Pant joined his captain Gill, and opened his account when he blasted his second ball straight past the England captain to the long-on boundary. If Stokes had got a hand he would have been rushed to the hospital. After that initial threatening shot Pant went into his shell ans]d was quite intent to play second fiddle to Gill who cut Woakes to the point boundary and gradually worked his way through the 80’s.
Pant pulled Shoaib Bashir to the mid-wicket boundary and that sprang Pant back into life. He took a couple of paces down the pitch to Shoaib Bashir and launched him into the Howard stand for a six to bring up the 300.
England took the new ball as soon as it was available and Pant slog/swept the second ball to the long-off boundary to bring up his 50 from 91 balls with five fours and a six. It also brought up 3,000 Test runs for Pant.
England bowling Consultant Tim Southee said: “When you win the toss and bowl you expect to get quick inroads and I thought that after getting those two quick wickets before lunch that we would get more. But it’s still going to be a good surface tomorrow when we bat. There is still a lot of belief in the side from what they’ve done before. This morning I looked at the surface and I took a decision that would give us the best chance to get 20 wickets. I thought the efforby our bowlers was good throughout the day.
Full credit to the Indian batters. The class of an Indian side is not how many games they’ve played because they’ll always be good.”
Day 2
ENGLAND fought back well on the second day as they took the seven remaining India wickets for 112 runs in 18 overs and at the end of the day they were 262 behind with eight first innings wickets standing.
At noon it looked like India would get nearer to 650 than 450 but it all changed at 12.33. India then collapsed losing seven wickets for 41 runs in 11 overs. First to go was Shubman Gill who went down the pitch to Shoaib Bashir and clipped him off his toes but he found Josh Tongue on the mid-wicket boundary. His 137 came from 227 balls in 359 minutes and it included 19 fours and a six. With Rishaban Pant they added 209 in 17 overs.
Pant went for a big hit off Shoaib Basher but his bat slipped from his hands and nearly hit stumper Jamie Smith. It was nearly as bizarre as his eventual dismissal when he got into an awful position with his legs as he faced Tongue and was leg before. He reviewed the decision but the decision stood. His 131 came from 178 balls in 251 minutes with 12 fours and six sixes.
Karun Nairn cane and went in the blink of an eye when he drove Ben Stokes but found Ollie Pope at short mid-wicket who took a spectacular flying catch. In the final over before lunch Shardul Thakur chased a wide delivery from Stokes and Smith took the catch.
In the second full over after lunch Tongue got his second wicket when Jasprit Bumrah edged a yorker to Harry Brook at second slip. Ravindra Jadeja tried to cut Tongue but was too close to him and he played on. Five balls later Prasidh Krishna played across the line to Tongue and lost his leg stump as Tongue finished with four wickets for 86 with Stokes taking four for 66.
Ben Duckett said: “I’ve seen Tongue do that at Nottinghamshire. He has got that extra pace. I call the mop because he mops the tail up. He has got that X factor.”
India batting coach Shitayshu Kotak said: “It was a bit of a collapse, we weren't expecting that but it can happen. At 350 for three we were expecting getting a big score but there were a couple of soft dismissals apart from those I thought the England bowlers bowled well.”
At the start of the day both Gill and and Pant were quickly finding the boundary: Gill gracefully drove Woakes to the extra cover boundary, he made batting look easy when he drove Stokes to the extra cover boundary, while Pant glanced Brydon Carse off his legs just wide of Smith and the Pant brought up the 150 partnership of 223 balls when he dabbed Carse between the slips and gully to the third man boundary.
Pant pulled a short ball from Shoaib Bashir and pulled into the West stand to bring up the 400 for India and take him into the 90’s. On 97 he was called through for a quick single by Gill who safely made his ground but Brook was hit on his back by Duckett’s throw from point.
Pant reached his 7th Test century with a six. He went down the pitch to Shoaib Bashir and drove into the West stand. He has now hit the most centuries by an Indian wicket keeper and it came from 146 balls with 10 fours and four sixes. He celebrated by doing a somersault. Two balls later he mis-hit Shoaib Bashir the ball went straight and Carse did well to try and take a catch but his momentum carried over the line to bring up the 200 partnership with Gill.
The start of England’s first innings was delayed due to rain but it only took India six balls to get a wicket. Zak Crawley tried to turn Bumrah to leg who found his outside edge and Nair at first slip took a low catch.
India lost a review in Bumrah’s next over when Duckett was hit on the pads. Umpire Chris Gaffaney gave it not out and the replay showed it pitched outside leg stump.
Pope, whose place in the team is under threat from Jacob Bethal, answered his critics by hitting a ninth Test century. He reached his ton when he squirted Bumrah into the leg side for a single. His century came from 124 balls with eight fours.
Duckett added: “He was so calm from the minute that he came out. I don’t think that he could have made a better start to the Test summer with two centuries in two matches. It didn’t just mean a lot to him, it meant a lot to the dressing room.
If we get a couple of guys in tomorrow and win the morning session, but we have to put Bumrah under pressure, you never know what will happen.”
Earlier Pope edged Bumrah in the gap between third slip and gully. On 60 he tried to run Bumrah to third man but found Yashasui Jaissal at third slip but as he fell to the ground he dropped the ball.
On 34 Pope was hit on his pads by Siraj but the appeal was turned down but India reviewed it. The replay showed it was umpires call on height so the review was retained.
Duckett should have been out on 15 when he edged a drive off Bumrah but Jadeja at backward point put the chance down diving to his right. Duckett said: “I was glad when he put it down.”
He swept Jadeja to the fine leg boundary to bring up his 19th Test 50, this one came from 68 balls with eight fours and it also brought up the hundred partnership with Pope. Bumrah got his second wicket when Duckett got an inside edge and played on.
India thought they had Joe Root leg before to Siraj on seven, Root reviewed it and the replay showed it to be missing leg stump. They eventually got him 13 minutes before the close when Bumrah got one to rise at Root who simply guided it to Nain at first slip.
Brook pulled Bumrah and was caught at mid-wicket in the last over of the day and was relieved to see the umpire had called a no ball.
Day 3
THE first Test is now a one innings match after England fought back to within six off India’s first innings score of 471 and when rain ended play early India were 90 for two.
Jasprit Bumah took his 14th Test five wicket haul which cost him 83 runs but his figures could and should have been better if India had held their catches. They dropped five catches and the bowlers took wickets only to find that they had overstepped the bowling line.
Bumrah said: “You can’t sit down and cry, you have to move on with the game. Nobody drops catches on purpose and I don’t want to put pressure on the fielders by kicking the ground or getting upset. After all, it's part and parcel of the game.
At night I think that I am a human being and I ask myself did I give it my best today and I answer yes I sleep better. It’s still a good pitch to bat on, I don’t see any demons in the pitch or any massive deviations. We would like a big score to give us a chance of creating pressure.
”One of the English men to benefit was Harry Brook. He was caught in the final over on Saturday night before he had scored only to be reprieved when Bumrah had over stepped.
He was given another life today, this time on 82 and again the bowler was Bumrah. In the third over with the new ball Brook guided Bumrah to Yashasui Jaiswal at fourth slip who parried the ball. That was the third drop off Bumrah and the fifth in total. That number of dropped catches India’s slip cordon is almost unheard of in recent times. To rub salt to the drop Brook casually drove Mohammed Siraj over long-on for a six into the Howard stand.
In the previous over Brook hit Siraj for two consecutive boundaries: Brook drove him straight and cut the next ball to the cover boundary. He got off the mark by drilling Prasidh Krishna to the cover boundary and pulling the next over mid-wicket for a six.
Brook fell one short of his first Test century at Headingley when he top edged a pull off Krishna to Shardul Thakur on the fine-leg boundary. His 99 came from 112 balls with two sixes and 11 fours. He walked off disappointed but it was 99 runs more than he should have got after he was caught yesterday before he had scored off. Brook became the 16th England player to be dismissed on 99 and the last one was his Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow. Bumrah added: “He played really well and he plays aggressively.
”He charged Siraj and drilled him to the extra cover boundary to bring up the 50 partnership with Stokes. Later in the over Siraj broke the partnership when Ben Stokes tried cutting him with an open face and Pant got his second catch of the morning session. Stokes showed his disappointment with his dismissal by throwing his bat in the air.
Brook reached a 65-ball half-century shortly before lunch with a single to long-on, marking his second fifty in three innings at his home ground in his maiden Test against India. After lunch Brook scooped Ravindran Jadeja to the fine leg boundary.
Pope said: “When he hit Bumrah for a six I thought where did that come from and it shows the confidence that he has in his game. I thought his knock was unbelievable. He was gutted when he got out and was as frustrated as anyone when he got out.
”India got an early wicket in the third over of the morning when Pope top edged a cut off Krishna to stumper Rishabh Pant after adding six to his overnight score. His 106 came from 137 balls and included 14 fours.
He said: “It was disappointing not to score more but I’ve got to make sure that my game keeps improving. Batting at number three you know that you will get a ball with your name on it,On one Jamie Smith got an inside edge to Siraj which ran to the fine leg boundary. He made another five when he walked forward and across his stumps, was hit on his pads. Umpire Chris Gaffaney gave him out, Smith reviewed and the replay showed it to be going down leg.
Three balls before the new was due Smith pulled Krishna into the East stand for a six with three men on the legside boundary. India lost their second review off the next ball when they thought Smith had cueended the ball to Pant and reviewed it. The replay showed that the ball had missed the bottom of the bat. Smith pulled the next ball to Jadeja on the square leg boundary but as Jadeja felt his momentum taking him over the line he threw the ball back into Sai Sudharsan who completed the catch.
Chris Woakes went mad hitting two sixes getting England closer to India’s first innings score and passing 2000 Test runs. Brydon Carse got into the act and smashed Siraj to the cover boundary. He then flat batted Siraj straight to the long-on boundary. Carse backed away too much to the next ball and Siraj hit the base of his off stump. With Woakes they added 55 in 10 overs. Woakes’ knock finished when Bumrah nicked one back into his off stump. But his 38 could prove vital as could the rest of England’s lower order. From Stokes at number six to Shoaib Basher at 11 they scored 132 runs compared to India’s last six which only scored 16.
Josh Tongue edged Bumrah wide off the slips to the third man boundary. He went down the pitch to Jadeja and lofted him for a one one bounce four. Bumrah wrapped the England innings up when he moved one way from Tongue into his off stump.
Leading by six India lost an early wicket in their second innings losing one of their century makers in the first innings Jaiswal. Carse in the fourth over got one to go straight when it pitched and opened up Jaiswal taking his edge to Smith.
Despite that early loss KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan, who got off the dreaded pair in his first Test match, brought their 50 up in the 13th over with KL Rahul driving England’s bowlers around Headingley including driving Tongue to the cover boundary.
Sudharsan on 24 cut Tongue to Ben Duckett at gully but despite having four attempts couldn’t take the catch. Sudharsan clipped Stokes off his toes to the mid-wicket boundary.
But he turned the next ball to Zak Crawley at mid-wicket.Pope added: “I thought we had a good day one but we did get the rewards and I don’t think that it was a wrong decision to bowl on Friday but full credit to the Indian batters.
”Before play started there was a minute’s applause for the life of former England and Gloucestershire player David ‘Syd’ Lawrence whose death was announced this morning.
Day 4
THE fourth day at Headingley ended with all results possible on the final day with England needing another 350 runs and India needing 10 wickets to win after India were dismissed for 364 after their tail failed to get any runs.
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian player to hit a century in both innings of a Test match, he became the second player to hit a century in both innings of a Test match at Headingley, the other was Shai Hope for the West Indies in 2017. He also became the second wicketkeeper to hit a century in both innings in a Test match. The first was Andy Flower for Zimbabwe against South Africa in 2001.
His eighth Test century and his fourth against England came when he cut Shoaib Basher for a single. Pant’s hundred came from 130 balls with two sixes and 13 fours. He was eventually out when he didn’t get hold of a drive off Shoaib Basher and found Zak Crawley on the long-on boundary. With KL Rahul they added 195 in 47 overs.
The morning session gave no hint of the fireworks which were to come after lunch in which they scored 63 with only 25 in the first hour KL Rahul seemed to have a calming effect on Pant.
KL Rahul said: “Pant enjoys his cricket but I tried to keep him as calm as possible but I just let him be Pant.”After losing captain Shubman Gill to the seventh ball of the morning when he chopped on to Brydon Carse. He was nearly joined back in the hutch by his vice-captain Pant in the next over. Pant took a couple of paces down the pitch to Chris Woakes had a big swing, edged it and the ball flew over the slips to the third man boundary, it could quite easily gone to Joe Root at first slip,to take India’s lead past 100. On 11 he slog/swept Woakes, the ball went high in the air and Pant thought he was gone. The ball eventually went to the third man boundary.
Amazingly India made it to lunch without losing another wicket: on 58 KL Rahul guided Josh Tongue to Harry Brook at gully who had it and then dropped it. He made another six runs before Ben Stokes got one to rise at him and he edged it but fortunately for the opener the ball fell short off Ben Duckett at gully. Despite those two let off’s, his shot of the morning was a delightful cover drive off Stokes that brought up the 50 partnership with Pant.
Pant edged Tongue wide off Jamie Smith and through the vacant slip area to the third man boundary and he smashed the next ball to the cover boundary. He played Tongue late to the third man boundary.In the afternoon session we heard the roars of the Indian fans and their flags were seen more than at any time in the previous three days and it was Pant who brought the Indian fans to life. He edged Tongue through where second slip would have taken and brought up his 50 with a single from the next ball. His 50 came from. He hit two sixes off Shoaib Basher in three balls.
In the next over he pulled Carse to the mid-wicket boundary.
Pant thrashed Shoaib Basher into the covers where Stokes lapt and made a brilliant attempt to catch it but the ball wouldn’t stick. He cut Shoaib Basher bisecting Stokes and Root in the covers who were only 10 yards apart.Opener KL Rahul became the first Indian opener to hit three centuries in England when he drilled Shoaib Basher for a couple to bring up his ninth Test century and his fourth against England. This one came from 202 balls with 13 fours. KL Rahul pulled Shoaib Basher to square leg boundary to take him into the 90’s. He late cut Carse to the third man boundary. His dismissal was similar to his captain when he dragged Carse back on to his stumps then India lost five wickets for 16.
Rahul added: “Once I get a start I try to get a big score. We had a few discussions about how many runs we needed and we would have preferred 40 more runs. I enjoy opening the batting and I am happy that I am back there.
We have the opportunity tomorrow to get 10 wickets because we know how England are going to come out and play.”
Playing his first Test match for eight years Karun Nair got off a pair when he reversed swept Shoaib Basher to the third man boundary. He made 20 before he chipped Woakes back to the bowler. After being out of the Test side for eight he couldn’t hide his disappointment at the way he got out, he stood at the crease for an age.
As in the first innings came and demolished the tail by taking three wickets on an over without a run. First Thakur edged a full ball from him to Root at first slip. After the drink’s interval Tongue got on an hattrick when Mohammed Siraj gloved him and Smith took a legside catch. Jasprit Bumrah survived the hattrick back but Tongue’s next ball knocked his middle stump out of the ground.Rahul added: “I don’t blame the tail for not getting runs because they tried their best but I am more disappointed with those in the top order that didn’t score runs.”Prasidh Krishna clipped Shoaib Basher off legs but found Tongue running in from the mid-wicket boundary and took a good catch looking into the sun.
Tongue said: “When they batted the pitch flattened out and fielding was difficult with the strong wind.” On Saturday Duckett said that he calls Tongue the mop because he mops up the tail and Tongue that he might start calling himself that. “This game it was my turn, in the next game it might be someone else’s turn. I just like to contribute to the team.
We are confident that we can get the runs tomorrow, because we have a strong batting line-up and we can chase anything. I hope that we have scored the runs before it’s my turn to bat.”
Day 5
ENGLAND beat India by five wickets at Headingley to take a one-nil lead in the Anderson/Tendulkar series.
It’s the first time that a team has lost a Test match after five batters have scored a century. The foundations for England’s victory were laid by openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley who put on 188 for the first wicket. Their 188 was the highest opening partnership in a fourth innings at Headingley beating the 112 by Verdun Scott and Bert Sutcliffe put on for New Zealand against England in 1949. It was the second highest in England and the fifth highest opening partnership in the fourth innings.
Captain Ben Stokes said: “They compliment each other and they work well together. Duckett is a quality player and he is a hard player for bowlers to bowl to. Chase 371 to win you need a good start and they got us to a great start and they’ve been very good in the past few years.
”Duckett reverse swept Ravindran Jadeja twice in three balls to the point boundary to take him six short of his century. He added another three when he pulled Mohammed Siraj but Yashasui Jaiswal running in from the fine leg boundary dropped the chance. Duckett reached his sixth Test hundred in his 34th Test match from 121 balls with 14 fours, when he reversed swept Jadeja to the point boundary.
Another reverse sweep off Jadeja brought up England’s 250 but on the cusp of his 150 he drove Sardul Thakur to substitute Kumar Reddy at short cover. His 149 was the second highest by an England opener in the fourth innings.
Play got underway on time under overcast conditions and in the first over Jasprit Bumrah bowled a peach of a ball that left Duckett and almost found his edge. Both Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept it tight and the boundaries dried up. After four overs Bumrah was taken out of the attack.
In the morning session the nearest that India came close to getting a wicket in the morning was when Crawley, on 42 gave a hard return chance to Bumrah. With the Indian supporters chanting Bumrah’s name in his second spell he was fired up and when Crawley’s check drive went towards Bumrah they were already cheering a wicket. But the ball hit Bumrah’s wrist in his follow through. The Indians’ cheers turned to gasps of disappointment.
On 46, India lost a review when Crawley walked across his stumps, down the pitch and was hit on the pads. The review showed the ball to be going down the legside. Crawley pushed Mohammed Siraj for a single on the legside to bring up his 17th Test 50 from 116 balls with five fours. Duckett edged Mohammed Siraj wide off Jadeja at slip to the third man boundary to bring the 150 partnership with Crawley.
After a stoppage for 20 minutes due to rain India finally got a wicket when Crawley edged a drive of Prasidh Krishna and Jadeja took a good catch at first because the ball was rising his hands were away from his body. Krishna got his second wicket when he jagged one back at Ollie Pope onto his back pad and on to his stumps.
Thakur got on a hattrick when Harry Brook was strangled down the legside. In the next over India thought they had Ben Stokes caught at short leg and reviewed it. The replay showed it had hit Stokes’ arm. Their decision making when it comes to reviews needs to improve. India lost their last review when Joe Root was hit on the pads by Jadeja and umpire Chris Gaffany gave him not out. India reviewed it and the replay showed it to be going down legside.
Stokes edged Thakur through the slips along the ground to the boundary to take England’s target below 100. He reversed swept Jadeja but none of the three close players moved, although KL Rahul made a belated attempt. A television replay showed that Stokes had gloved it. In Jadeja’s next over Stokes reversed swept him again and the ball looped to Shubman Gill at short third man.
Jamie Smith drove Jadeja to take England’s target below 50 but he stuck with Root when he could have panicked. Root was his usual calm self nudging the ball around and stroking the ball around the ground. Smith ran Thakur down to the third man boundary. He smacked Jadeja to the mid-wicket boundary and then swept fir a six over square leg into the East stand. Two balls later he blasted Jadeja over the mid wicket for another six and an England win.Stokes added:
“We’ve been pretty good at this ground in the past few years. Going into the final hour on the final day shows how good the quality of cricket has been from both sides. To reach 371 with five wickets down was very good. What we have done in this match is a proper effort by everyone. But we’re one-nil up in a tough series, we've still got four more to play and we will have some tough days.
Root reached his 66th Test 50 when he edged a drive off Mohammed Siraj in the first over with the new ball to the third man boundary for one of his eight fours in 50. His 50 came from 84 balls.
Despite five batters getting centuries they still let England off the hook and they should have scored a lot more runs than they did so Sai Sudharsan and Kurun Nair need to knuckle down and get scores nearer to 50 or 70. The back-up bowlers need to step up to the plate and get into the wickets column, because they will be without Bumrah for two Tess and their bowling will look bare without him.
For the second Test at Edgbaston India need to be proactive in team selection, batting and bowling. Thakur didn’t take a wicket and only scored five, the better choice will be Kuldeep Yadav whose batting might be weaker than Thakur but as a left arm wrist spinner his bowling would be more of a threat.
India’s Gautam Gambheir said: “Hopefully we can learn from this Test match. Sometimes people fail and they know that we should have got 575 if we had, we would have dominated the game. I am not blaming anyone, we lose together and we win together. It was Gill’s first Test as captain and it’s a great honour to captain the Test side. We have to give him time and I’m sure that he will get better.
We take pride in playing for our country and we try to win each and every game for our country. We give our best in every Test match thinking that we will win it.
Before play started a minute's silence was held in memory of the former India, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire player Dilip Doshi whose death from a heart attack at the age of 77 was announced this morning.