After some routine warm-up action against Zimbabwe and West Indies, the main event began at Headingley as England’s men took on India in the first of a five-Test series. For the selectors, the batting line-up more or less picked itself, though there were some newspaper speculation that Ollie Pope’s place was under threat from Jacob Bethell. Among the bowlers, with several candidates missing through injury, England went with a pace combo of Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue, supplemented by all-rounder Ben Stokes and the spin of Shoaib Bashir. Meanwhile, India arrived without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both now retired, and a new captain in 25-year-old Shubman Gill. Sai Sudharsan earned his debut, batting at No 3, while Karun Nair set a new international record, having missed 402 international fixtures since his last appearance for India, back in March 2017. (The previous record holder was Rayad Emrit, of West Indies, who went 396 games between appearances between 2007 and 2018.)
Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl, hoping to repeat the result of the previous six Tests when the side bowling first went on to win. Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L.Rahul opened the batting on a good-looking pitch and found it tough going, but there was no early breakthrough. The fifty partnership came up in 90 balls, and then the runs began to flow more freely before Rahul, on 42, edged Carse to Joe Root. Stokes then followed up to make Sai Sudharsan’s debut innings a disappointing one, as he was caught down the legside by Jamie Smith. It was 92 for two at lunch.
Jaiswal could have fallen LBW to Carse from an inswinging Yorker, but it was a no-ball, and he recovered to reach his fifty off 96 balls. Meanwhile Gill was looking very fluent, dominating the early stages of the partnership, which reached fifty in just 63 balls. Gill then got to his fifty off 56 balls with a lovely pull shot, and Jaiswal completed the hundred partnership (in 123 balls) with a straight drive off Bashir. Jaiswal pushed one into the covers to bring up his fifth Test century and his third against England, in 144 balls. At tea it was 215 for two, with India well on top.
Just after the break, Stokes struck again to bowl Jaiswal for 101, bringing vice-captain Rishabh Pant to the crease. Second ball, Pant charged down the wicket and thumped Stokes back over his head, and even the England captain had to laugh at the audacity of it. Despite that, it took 94 balls for the fifty partnership to be completed. Gill then completed his first century as captain (and sixth overall) off 140 balls with a crashing drive through the covers. Gill and Pant brought up their hundred partnership off 146 balls, before the new ball was taken after 80 overs with the score on 331 for three. Pant immediately went to his fifty off 91 balls with a toe-ended straight drive; it also took him to 3000 Test runs, at an average of 42.85. At the close it was 359 for three, with England not only failing to make the most of the decision to field first, but also bowling just 85 overs in the day.
After dominating the first day, India were eventually outgunned on Day Two. Initially, there were few signs of change: Gill reached his highest Test score when he went past 128, then the 150 partnership came up off 223 balls, and Pant started to swing the ball lustily to all parts. With the score past 400, Pant brought up his century off 146 balls with a six over mid-wicket off Bashir – the celebration wasn’t too shabby either. Pant’s next six brought up the 200 partnership in 287 balls. But then, seemingly against all logic, after 80 minutes things changed. Gill picked out Tongue deep on the legside boundary and was caught for 147 off Bashir: 430 for four. Pant charged Bashir but ran past it but Smith couldn’t complete the stumping. Nair was brilliantly caught by Pope at extra cover off Stokes without scoring. Pant was caught in no-man’s-land by Tongue and was LBW for 134, having hit 12 fours and six sixes in his 178 balls. Stokes forced Shardul Thakur to swing loosely and edged to Smith. At lunch it was 454 for seven.
After the break, Tongue found Jasprit Bumrah’s edge and Harry Brook took the catch, then he removed Ravindra Jadeja who chopped on to the stumps and finally he blasted through Prasidh Krishna’s defences and India were all out for 471, having lost seven wickets for just 41. Stokes (four for 66) was the pick of England’s attack, but Tongue will have been pleased with his figures of four for 86.
A brief rain delay meant that Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett came out under the floodlights to face Bumrah, which was hardly ideal. Bumrah has an excellent record against right-handers, and in his first over he beat Crawley, who edged to Nair at first slip. Pope came out with the pressure on, but he started with confidence, while Duckett was his typical busy self. The fifty partnership was achieved in only 53 balls, after Jadeja dropped Duckett. It felt as though Bumrah needed better support in the field and from the rest of the bowling line-up. Duckett was the first to reach his fifty, taking 68 balls, and the same boundary also brought up the hundred partnership off 126 balls. At tea, England were 107 for one, and fighting back.
The evening session began with Pope squirting it through the slip cordon for four to complete his fifty off 64 balls. It was no surprise when Bumrah made the breakthrough, with Duckett bowled off the inside edge for 62. Joe Root was struggling to settle, then Jaiswal dropped another chance off Bumrah given by Pope. Root was given out LBW off Siraj, but his appeal to DRS was upheld. The fifty partnership was reached after 81 high-pressure balls. Just before the close, Pope completed his century off 125 balls – it was his ninth in Test cricket, eight of them coming at No 3. It could have been the perfect way to end the day, but there was one more significant moment as Root edged Bumrah and fell for 28 – it was the tenth time he’d dismissed Root. Brook had a few nervous moments to see out, but mistimed a pull and lobbed one up to mid-wicket, only for it to be called as a no-ball. The day ended with England on 209 for three, and it felt like everything depended on how many overs Bumrah was capable of bowling as he continues his way back from injury.
At the start of Day Three the game was roughly in the balance, but there was sadness, too, with the announcement of the death of David ‘Syd’ Lawrence, the first British-born black cricketer to play for England, who had been suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. Brook, who’d gone 15 balls without scoring, found his rhythm in the first over of play, hitting Krishna for a crunching off-drive before launching the next ball over mid-wicket for a massive six. Then Pope edged a short, wide one from Krishna and was out for 106. That brought in Stokes, who took his time to get going, while Brook dominated as the pair put on fifty in 78 balls, but soon after Stokes gave a fine edge off Siraj to fall for 20. Smith was next in and survived a big LBW shout before Brook was dropped by Pant on 46. On his home ground, Brook reached fifty in 65 balls, before he and Smith completed their fifty partnership in 71 balls. At lunch England were 327 for five.
Smith was looking good for his 40 when he tried to deposit Krishna into the stands again but was caught on the boundary just before the new ball became available. Brook simply upped his scoring rate, though he got very lucky when he guided one to Jaiswal in the cordon off Bumrah when on 82, only for it to be inexplicably dropped. India’s fielding errors were costing them dear. Woakes took his time to get going, but that’s the advantage of having Brook at the other end. On 99, Brook lofted one down to fine leg off Krishna, only to find Thakur, and his spectacular innings came to an end. Unlike India’s tail, England’s contributed usefully. Woakes and Carse raced to their fifty partnership in only 36 balls, with Woakes going to 2000 Test runs with a six – it meant he became the fourth quickest England all-rounder to 2000 runs and 150 wickets, taking 58 Tests, behind Ian Botham (42 Tests), Moeen Ali and Andrew Flintoff (both on 53) and ahead of Ben Stokes (64). Carse backed away once too often to create space and was bowled by Siraj for 22. Woakes was bowled by a beauty from Bumrah, and then Bumrah finished it off by bowling Tongue to give him figures of five for 83. England were all out for 465 and trailed by just 6 runs, so the game was finely balanced.
England needed an early breakthrough, and they got it when Carse found Jaiswal’s edge to make it 16 for one. Sudharsan came out on a pair and, although he avoided it, the pressure was on, however he and Rahul added fifty in 80 balls. England decided to repay some of the favours the Indian fielders had given them when Duckett failed to cling on to a catch from Sudharsan in the gully. The reprieve didn’t last long as Stokes had him caught at mid-wicket. At the close, India were 90 for two and it was still a game that was there to be won by either side.
Right at the beginning of the fourth day, Gill dragged the ball onto his stumps off Carse, but that only brought Pant to the crease – and second ball he charged down the pitch and slashed one for four. Rahul continued making calm progress, bringing up his fifty in 87 balls. The morning session proved a cautious one, but Tongue came close to removing Rahul, only for Brook to drop a catch in the slips that he should have held on to. The fifty partnership took 117 balls, the slowest of the match by far. At lunch it was 153 for three.
After the break, India batted more positively, and soon Pant reached his fifty in 83 balls. The hundred partnership followed soon after, in 193 balls, and then Pant hit Bashir for two sixes in three balls, which gave him even more confidence. Stokes nearly pulled off one of the best catches you’d ever see, flying to his left at extra-cover when Pant drilled one past him. After 202 balls, Rahul reached a thoroughly deserved century, the ninth of his career. Pant took his time in the nineties, but brought up his hundred after 130 balls. It was his eighth Test century, meaning that now only Adam Gilchrist (17) and Andy Flower (12) have more as a wicket-keeper; he was just the seventh Indian batter to score two Test centuries in a match; and only the second keeper to do so, after Flower. Just before 3.30, with India on 287 for three and the runs flowing fast, it seemed as if India would be able to bat England out of the game and still have time to bowl them out. But then Pant heaved one to long-on off Bashir and was nicely caught by Crawley for 118 off 140 balls, ending a partnership of 195. At tea, India were 298 for four, having scored 145 runs in the session at 5.37 an over.
Rahul and Nair began the final session of the day steadily, and when the new ball was taken after 80 overs the score had reached 314 for four. But it soon did the trick as Rahul dragged on off Carse to fall for 137, and then, just as in the first innings, India’s tail folded when holding a dominant position. Nair then drove one straight back at Woakes, who took a great catch to give him his first wicket of the match. Thakur edged Tongue to Root, next ball Siraj fended one off his thigh and Smith hurried to leg to complete the catch. Bumrah survived the hat-trick delivery but was bowled second ball. And finally Krishna fell after giving a big heave into the deep off Bashir, only to find Tongue.
All out for 364, India had lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs, and they left England with six overs and a day to chase down a hefty total of 371. But that’s just the sort of challenge this side likes, even though England had only once scored more to win a match (378 for three v India at Birmingham in 2022, with Stokes’s 2019 Ashes heroics at Leeds the next best at 362 for nine). Crawley and Duckett saw off the last few overs of the day, reaching 21 without loss.
The final day began with everyone hoping that the rain didn’t ruin a potentially dramatic finale, and England could draw confidence from the fact that Headingley is a ground where the recent fourth-innings average score is the highest of all innings. England began slowly, with just 27 runs scored in the first ten overs as India’s bowlers piled on the pressure and the England pair struggled to survive. The fifty partnership came up in 99 balls, but with the arrival of Krishna and Thakur into the attack the runs began to flow. Duckett was leading the way and brought up his fifty in 66 balls. With Crawley, he completed the fourth century opening partnership they have shared in 149 balls, having earlier gone past the landmark of 2000 runs scored as an opening pair. Just before the break, Gill was forced to bring back Bumrah and he nearly took a brilliant, low return catch but England went into lunch on 117 without loss.
With the ground gradually filling up, England began the afternoon session facing up to Bumrah and Siraj. But they couldn’t stop Crawley making his fifty in 111 balls. The 150 partnership arrived with an edge through the slip region after 218 balls – it was just the fifth time in England’s history that an opening pair had reached this landmark in the fourth innings of a match. On 97, Duckett mistimed a pull shot off Siraj and the unlucky Jaiswal again fumbled the chance; ‘catches win matches’ is the cliché, but this Test was proving the validity of it. Duckett completed his sixth century in 121 balls with a reverse sweep for four. Soon after, the drizzle briefly forced the players off. The break worked, though, as Crawley edged Krishna to Rahul on 65, but an opening partnership of 188 had set up England nicely.
Pope didn’t last long, as Krishna nipped one back into his stumps. Root came out to join Duckett, who was absolutely flying, even reverse-sweeping Jadeja for six at one stage. But on 149, he drilled Thakur to extra cover and was out. First ball, Brook edged one down the leg side for Pant to grab, and England had lost two big wickets with the score on 253 and the match was in the balance again. Third ball, Stokes was subject to a DRS review, and you felt if it had gone India’s way, it might just have been the final tipping point, but he survived and the moment was gone. But then, at 269 for four, the rain returned and the players went off.
It was nearly 5.00 when play resumed. Stokes rode his luck for a while, but eventually fell for 33 having got a reverse sweep off Jadeja wrong. Smith came out with 69 runs still required, and the feeling that a quick wicket now would make things very tense. The keeper scratched around for a few balls initially, but once he scored his first boundary he found his fluidity. It helps to have Root at the other end, and he reached his fifty in 84 balls. The fifty partnership took 82 balls, and by now England were cantering home. Smith finished it with a six, and England had won a famous victory, ending up 373 for five.
It was the tenth highest successful run chase in Test history, and England’s second best. The match aggregate of 1673 was also the tenth highest in Test history, and the third highest in Tests in England. It was the sixth time under Stokes that England had chased down a total of 250+ to take them two ahead of M.S.Dhoni’s India. And it was only the third time in Test history that all four innings had been 350+. England emerged victorious thanks to a combination of better catching, better support bowling and better batting from the tail – Stokes rightly highlighting Tongue’s impact in closing out both of India’s innings. England will go to Edgbaston full of confidence, while India still have questions to answer, but with the knowledge that if they improve in a few key areas they can turn the series around. Just don’t expect England to make that easy for them.