England vs India, TEST, 1st Test, June 20, 2025 - Match Info

A thrilling finish to the game and a remarkable start to the series. It’s not often you see Test matches that go right down to the wire - there’s just something about Headingley and thrilling Tests. India will be quite dejected with that result having been in commanding positions multiple times throughout that game. They just couldn’t quite edge out the opposition in the key moments and that’s what made the difference. Nonetheless, plenty of positives for India to take away from this game - not in the least the five individual tons they struck. With a bit of polish, they’ll be strong contenders heading into the next game. On the contrary, it’ll be a satisfying win for Stokes and his men. Like he alluded to, England showed great character when it mattered, particularly today when they came out to chase 371. Duckett’s 149 was a masterclass on playing the situation right and that means England head to Edgbaston, a venue that isn’t known as the friendliest for visiting sides, 1-0 up. That’s all we’ve got for you today, this is I0$,I1$ and I2$ signing off.

Ben Stokes | England Captain: We’ve got some good memories here, this is another one to add to it. Awesome Test match to be a part of, going into the final hour of day 5 and getting the run-chase. You don’t know what’s going to happen before a ball is bowled. You have to do what you think is going to give you the best chance of winning. We were trying to look at what will give us the best opportunity to win. We saw a bit of grass and moisture on the pitch, we thought it will do a bit for us. The opposition is allowed to play well, thought they played very well in that first session. Unbelievable. The pressure of a fourth innings and going out there is tough, especially in England. That partnership between Zak (Crawley) and Ben (Duckett) was incredible to get us going. To get that down to set us off in a run-chase was incredible. They complement each other really well. Thought Zak stayed very calm. Duckett as well, really good. Zak’s 60-odd was very important as well. Chasing down totals gives this team a lot of confidence. To win against quality oppositions, like we have for a number of times, it gives us confidence. Been a great start to the series, got four more hard games to come. Honestly I think there’s a lot of skill that has contributed to winning this Test match but also the attitude we showed was incredible. We were on the field for long periods of time in this game, thought we turned up with the attitude that we could break this game open at any time. Josh Tongue’s spells in both innings was really impressive. There was a lot skill that helped us win this game but also the attitude we showed was great as well. I think this Test match shows that if it goes down to the last hour on Day 5 then it’s a pretty good wicket, you always feel like you need to be the one to break the game open. Like I said, Tongue’s spells were superb to clean up the Indian tail quickly. Very much looking forward to the next four.

Gill (2/2): Didn't give away that many runs but you know it's very hard to stop them once the ball gets old and you have to keep picking wickets to be able to stay in the game. Unfortunately some edges didn't find the fielders, didn't go our way. But I think they batted really well after the ball got old they took their chances and their opening partnership kind of took the game away from us. (On Jadeja's bowling on Day 5) He bowled brilliantly, I think he did produce some chances for us, a few pop-ups that Rishabh (Pant) didn't take. But that happens in any game of cricket, you kind of expect there would be some chances that wouldn't go your way. (On Bumrah's availability) It's definitely more game by game, you know there's a good break after the Test match so once we're close to the match we'll see.

Shubman Gill | Indian Captain (1/2): I think it was a brilliant Test match. We had our chances, we dropped catches and our lower-order didn't contribute enough, but proud of the team and overall a good effort. Yesterday we were thinking we were going to get around 430 and declare. Unfortunately our last 6 wickets scored only around 20-25 runs which is never a good sign. Even today after their brilliant opening partnership I felt we still had our chance but just didn't go our way in this match. (On batting collapses) Yes, that was something that we spoke about but when you are out there in the middle it happens so quickly and I think it would be one of those things that we have to rectify in the upcoming matches Could be one of those things we have to rectify in the upcoming matches. Yes, definitely chances don't come easy especially on wickets like these and we dropped quite a few catches but I think we've got a young team, still a learning one and hopefully in the next matches we'll be able to improve on those aspects. (Asked if they could have done anything differently) I mean not really, I think the first session that we bowled we were quite spot on, I think we bowled pretty well.

Duckett (2/2): (On Crawley batting with composure) Yeah, he did and we saw it last month against Zimbabwe as well, just the way he played and how calm he is. Just waiting for bad balls to be hit today and respecting it when they've gone wrong. (On playing Bumrah) Yeah, of course and he's a world-class bowler, it's very clear and in our first innings he was superb. To limit his damage was massive for us and individuals are all going to go about it differently and I feel we did play him very well today. (Handling Jadeja on a Day 5 pitch) Yeah, it felt really difficult with the straight bat, he was obviously spitting out that rough and it's a shot that I go to a lot and at times going through three different versions of it, trying to get down the other end and then later on in my innings trying to hit boundaries. He obviously bowled well and to us left-handers it was tough out of those footholes. (On the reactions in the dressing room) Yeah, I think towards the end, I think at the start of that partnership if India take a couple of wickets it's a completely different game but we do try and stay calm in different situations. I think when you've got Joe Root in the middle it's fairly easy to stay calm. I always believe that he was going to get us over the line and the likes of Jamie Smith to go out there and play with soaking up the pressure at the start of his innings and then play with the freedom he did at the end there to get us over the line was just amazing.

Ben Duckett | Player of the Match: (1/2) I'm not sure to be honest, just an incredible game to be a part of, I thought India was superb and yeah to go into day five and have a finish like we did here, it's just incredible. I mean first of all just to get through that period, it was really important, like we normally do, we'd probably get the total. So we didn't overthink anything, certainly getting through Jasprit (Bumrah) first spell and with that new ball and then from there on just playing our natural games. (On Edgbaston 2022 chase) I mean it was obviously mentioned, I wasn't there then so I'm not sure but I think the guys that were in the dressing room, we do believe, we've said that a number of times, but I think showing maturity at times throughout today from everyone was incredible and how much it means to win. (On trying to dig deep to win this game) Yeah, at times we were completely behind the eight-ball, India played superbly well on day one and there were certain moments in the game and I feel like massive credit to our bowling side who really got the tail out quickly in both innings. If we don't do that, you could add 50-60 runs to that chase and it could be a completely different game. So both sides were superb and it was just a great last day.

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Most individual 100s in a losing cause \n5 Ind vs Eng Headingley 2025 \n4 Aus vs Eng Melbourne 1928/29

Most runs scored by a team in a defeat \n861 Eng vs Aus Headingley 1948 \n847 Pak vs Eng Rawalpindi 2022 \n837 NZ vs Eng Trent Bridge 2022 \n835 Ind vs Eng Headingley 2025 \nThree of the top four have come against England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era.

The chase of 371 \nsecond highest by England \nsecond highest vs India \nthird in excess of 350 at Headingley, most at a single venue

India's inability to close out the escape routes for England allowed the hosts to stay in the game and on the last day, England did not allow the dangerman Bumrah to take a wicket - a large factor in that big chase. Also the pitch was a batting beauty all through the five days apart from the danger posed by the footmarks created for the spinners which saw it turn and bounce. Bumrah who took a fifer in the first innings, gave it his all and India should look at their fielding as it cost them heavily with so many drops, especially off Bumrah which if it had been taken, the result might well have been totally different. Not often do you see a team lose after scoring five tons in the game. India have suffered that fate here. So the first Test in the Gill era ends in a defeat. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff....

The lead was just 6 and it reduced the game to a one-innings shootout. India rode on KL's and Pant's contrasting tons to make 364 in the 2nd dig. They were well-placed to bat England out of the game at 287/3 and then at 333/4 but again a collapse allowed England to make hay with the 2nd new-ball and take the last 6 wickets for just 31 runs - 3) Another chance allowed by India to let England come back. Chasing 371 in the last innings was still not going to be easy but a tremendous 149 from Duckett with help from the others saw England chase it down quite easily. The last day was totally one-sided apart from a few phases as England romped home.

18:31 Local Time, 17:31 GMT, 23:01 IST: One of the best wins under the McCullum-Stokes era. And they have gone 1-0 up in this five-Test series. England just kept themselves in the game and then snatched it away from India on the final day. For the first four days, India had chances to seal the game and put it beyond England's reach but they kept squandering those. They have been made to pay for it big-time. On an overcast morning, Stokes won a good toss and opted to bowl under what seemed friendly conditions to bowl. But India through Jaiswal, KL, Gill and Pant went on to make 471. There were three hundreds in the innings and at one stage, they were sitting pretty at 430/3, the last 7 wickets fell for just 41 - 1) First chance India gave England of getting back. England in reply were helped by Duckett's 62, hundred from Pope and a 99 from Brook. India had England at 276/5 but the last 5 wickets managed to score 189 runs - 2) Second time India allowed England to get away.

81.6 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, SIX, England have Bazballed India into giving up! Look at the smile from Jamie Smith, he goes to Root who is all smiles too. They hug each other. Trescothick and Jeetan Patel hug Stokes. It's tossed up on a length on off, Smith gets low and out comes the slogsweep, it's again over mid-wicket and it's a flat hit - long boundaries here but no such problems for Smith as he clears it. And then the celebrations begin

81.5 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, 2 runs, very full outside the leg-stump, Jamie Smith gets forward to flick and Bumrah has work from deep square-leg, he gets across and cuts it off, keeps it to two

81.4 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, no run, tossed up outside the leg-stump, on a length, Jamie Smith is happy to get forward to defend

81.3 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, SIX, Jamie Smith wants to finish it off now. This is on a length outside the leg-stump, turns in, Jamie Smith with a massive sweep, hit aerially and it flies over deep square-leg, did not bother to keep it down. Flies into the crowd

81.2 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, FOUR, Jamie Smith takes the aggressive option. Full on off, Jamie Smith gets forward and sinks low on his back knee, cleared his front leg and slogsweeps to the vacant deep mid-wicket area, along the ground

81.1 Jadeja to Jamie Smith, no run, tossed up outside the leg-stump, Jamie Smith gets forward to defend it back down the track