Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, followed by Joe Root helped England register their second-highest run chase in Test history both coming against India. Set to chase 350 runs to win in their second innings, England won emphatically to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Be Duckett ( 149 runs off 170 balls) and Zak Crawley (65 runs off 126 balls) added 188 runs for the first wicket to set the platform for the run-chase.
Prasidh Krishna broke the partnership as he dismissed Crawley in the second session after an extended rain break. He then backed up with another quick wicket of Ollie Pope who scored a century in the first innings. After a partnership between Joe Root (53 * runs off 84 balls) and Duckett of 47 runs, it was Shardul Thakur who first dismissed Duckett and then Harry Brook (0 off 1) to give India some hope.
Also Read: England vs India: Double Blow from Shardul Puts India Back in the Game as England Need 102 runs
Advertisement
England Pull Off Record Chase To Win First Test
Ben Stokes then joined hands with Root and played with an aggressive mindset. The duo added 49 runs in quick time to lessen the deficit. Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Stokes who tried to play one reverse sweep top many. However, the Indian fielders were not awake to the opportunities presented by Stokes when he was batting.
Once Stokes was dismissed, England still needed 69 runs to win the Test match. Jamie Smith, the keeper-batter then scored 44 runs off 55 balls and with Root sized up the required runs with no further hiccups.
England won the first Test by five wickets and scored the second-most runs they have ever chased in a Test match. They chased 378 previously in 2022 at Edgbaston as well against India.
The Indian pacers in the second innings leaked way too many runs. Jasprit Bumrah, after his fifer in the first innings, went wicketless in the second innings. Prasidh, though he took two wickets went for 92 off his 15 overs. Ravindra Jadeja went for 104 runs off his 24 overs while Thakur went for 51 off his 10 overs.
The England batters negated the threat of Bumrah and Siraj. However, they were gifted easy runs with the Indian fielders lacking the intent on the field. Yashasvi Jaiswal who missed three chances in the first innings, dropped Duckett when he was on 97 and the southpaw went onto pile on the misery on the Indian bowlers. The southpaw at the end was chosen as the Player Of The Match for his sixth Test ton.
Also Read:Â Jofra Archer To Be Sanctioned By ECB Ahead Of Test Return
Advertisement
Plenty Of Problems For Team India Ahead Of 2nd Test
The Indian fielding once again became the talking point with the fielders dropping multiple catches and also misfielding. The team created an unwanted record of being the first team in Test history to lose a Test match after five of their batters scored centuries in the match. The Indian team scored over 800 runs in the Test match still ended up on the losing side.
Ahead of the next Test at Edgbaston from July 2, the Indian think tank has multiple problems to address and rectify as India started their WTC 2025-27 campaign with a loss under their new skipper Shubman Gill.
For More ENG vs IND Day 5 Live Updates
