India roared in England as Shubman Gill-led side put in an outstanding display of cricket to come away with a 2-2 draw. India did not give an inch and fought tooth and nail with the English side and at the end of it all, neither team deserved to lose. Shubman Gill led from the front with the bat scoring 754 runs while Mohammed Siraj starred with the ball taking 23 wickets.
It was a series that was played with mutual respect and the right spirit despite tempers boiling over from time-to-time. The two teams have a lot of history between one and another and while India has had less success in England over the years, they have competed well on this occasion. It was not a meek surrender by India by any means. They went toe-to-toe with the home team and had they won the big moments in the couple of Test matches then who knows India might have been the victors of the series.
But truth be told neither team deserved to lose a series after battling for 1.5 months and because of that we had a drawn series. India will be the happier side since with a new captain and young side, they have come to England and going away by drawing the series. England will be a tad disappointed playing at home and not able to win a series will hurt them and their chances of going to the WTC final. How they fare up in the Ashes remains to be seen. But for India, they roared in England and this team is ready to take the next steps.
History
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 was historic in more ways than one. Each match contained moments that were historic and the contest between the two teams was fierce. Knowing the history of India that they had not won a series in England since 2007, it was important they start the series well. It was a young side led by Shubman Gill after the retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. The task was cut out for India against an experienced side in England led by Ben Stokes and with Bazball on display, England started the series as overwhelming favourites to beat India.
The series kicked off at Leeds, Headingley on the back of a successful WTC final and all eyes were on this series as to how this will play out and whether the hype that the series created will be followed through. It was the start of a new cycle in WTC 2025-27. The series started on 20th June 2025. Under cloudy skies, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to field first. India began the series with a bang and started well after being inserted into bat first.
The opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul put on 91 for the first wicket before Rahul fell for 42 and debutant Sai Sudharsan did not trouble the scores. But Yashasvi Jaiswal stood tall and delivered to score a majestic ton. After that we saw captain Shubman Gill scoring a magnificent 147 and keeper batter Rishabh Pant also scoring a breath-taking 134 off 178 balls. India were well-placed at 430/3 and looked good to get to 500-550 but alas a batting collapse of 7/31 meant they got to 471 only and allowed England a sniff at the door.
England posted 465 due to multiple dropped catches by Indian fielders. Ben Duckett was dropped while scoring 62 runs while Ollie Pope was dropped multiple times while scoring a century. Harry Brook was caught on 0 of a no ball by Jasprit Bumrah and he made 99 and not to forget dropped as well. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the main culprit dropping 5 catches as India dropped 8 catches in the match. The tail wagged for England and cancelled out the first innings for either side. Jasprit Bumrah did pick up a 5-wicket haul but lacked support from the other end.
When India came to bat in the second innings with a lead of 7 runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal fell cheaply while captain Shubman Gill also missed out. But KL Rahul stood tall with his magnificent 137 and Rishabh Pant made history by becoming the first Indian keeper to score hundreds in each innings as India marched ahead in the contest. India were 333/4 at one stage as Karun Nair scored 20 while Sai Sudharsan at 3 scored 30 runs. But KL Rahul fell at this score and much like the first innings, this second innings collapsed in a heap. India lost 6/31 with Ravindra Jadeja high and dry unbeaten on 25 as India were bowled out for 364 and with a lead of 371 runs.
The Men in Blue would have felt confident of defending this score but they were stunned by England Cricket Team as Ben Duckett took the game away from listless Indian bowling as his 149 set the tone for the chase. He also shared 188-run stand with Zak Crawley and that really killed the game as India had very less runs to defend with. India had their brief moments through Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur picking a couple of wickets apiece but no wickets for Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj hurt India. Duckett made 149 while Crawley made 65 and then it was World’s Best Joe Root who took the side home remaining unbeaten on 53 off 84 balls as England won by 5 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series with Ben Duckett getting the Player of the Match award.
The bounce back was needed from the Men In Blue when the bandwagon moved from Leeds to Edgbaston in Birmingham for the second Test match which began on July 2nd. India went into the Test without Jasprit Bumrah as he had already said at the start of the tour that he will play only 3 Test matches in the series. Akash Deep came into the side and partnered Siraj and Prasidh Krishna while Nitish Kumar Reddy also came into the side and so did Washington Sundar. Sai Sudharsan was left out with Karun Nair promoted to Number 3.
England won the toss and decided to bowl again and while India lost KL Rahul early, Yashasvi Jaiswal looked in full flow and Karun Nair batted decently for his 31 off 50 balls while Jaiswal made 87 off 107 balls. But this Test match will always be remembered as the Shubman Gill show as the Prince dominated the English bowling from start to finish. The captain who scored a 147 at Leeds made sure to convert this century into a big one as he scored a majestic 269 off 387 balls. He was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja who did his reputation with bat no harm and scored 89 while Washington Sundar made 42 as India piled up 587 runs in 151 overs.
England lost early wickets with the new ball as Siraj and Akash Deep were unstoppable as they reduced England to 84/5 at one point. Then a counter-attacking response from England came from Harry Brook and Jamie Smith. Smith was the aggressor of the two as he got a hundred before Lunch and remained unbeaten on 184 off 207 balls while Brook made 158 off 234 balls. The duo put 303 for the 6th wicket but India struck back with the second new ball dismissing the rest of the batters for 20 runs and picked up 5 wickets. Brook fell to Akash Deep and the floodgates opened as Siraj completed a six-wicket haul finishing with 6/70 in 19.3 overs while Akash Deep chipped in with 4/88 in 20 overs. It meant India had a first innings lead of 180 runs when they came out to bat again.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul started with a positive intent before Tongue got rid of Jaiswal for 28 off 22 balls. KL Rahul made another valuable 55 off 84 balls while Karun Nair made a good looking 26 off 46 balls. But as was the case in the first innings, it was the Shubman Gill show yet again as he scored a breath-taking 161 off 162 balls to finish with 430 runs in 2 innings in this particular Test match. Gill was ably supported by his keeper batter Rishabh Pant who scored a breath-taking 65 off 58 balls to take the game away from England while Jadeja remained unbeaten on 69 off 118 balls alongside Washington Sundar’s 12* off 7 balls as India declared their innings at 407/6 declared setting England a target of 608 for the win.
Chasing a record breaking 608 for the win, England again lost early wickets and were reduced to 83/5 on this occasion with Akash Deep breathing fire while the others chipped in with their contributions. No one really stood up for England except Jamie Smith who scored 88 off 99 balls and Brydon Carse also played well at the tail end scoring 38 off 48 balls. England could not resist for long and despite the weather affecting play on the final day, England’s resistance ended.
England were eventually bowled out for 271 in 68.1 overs as India notched up their first win ever in Edgbaston, Birmingham. It was just not a win but a statement from the Men in Blue as they won this contest by 336 runs as England were outplayed in all facets of the game. Akash Deep was the star in the second innings with 6/99 in 21.1 overs while the rest of the bowlers picked up a wicket apiece. Akash had 10 wickets in the match while Siraj had 7 in the match as the duo picked 17 out of 20 wickets for India.
So, India had deservedly came storming back in the series and levelled it up at 1-1 with 3 matches still to play. Despite Siraj and Akash Deep’s heroics, the Player of the Match was awarded to Shubman Gill for scoring a whopping and record-breaking 430 runs in the Test match across two innings and it was when everyone knew that Gill belonged at the Test level as there were a lot of question marks on his place in the side before the series began. He had silenced his doubters for good under the Birmingham skies. The second Test of this series will surely be remembered as Shubman Gill’s Test despite the other notable contributors for India.
With the series levelled at 1-1, the bandwagon moved to the Mecca of Cricket. Some call it the Home of Cricket as Lord’s was set to host the crucial Third Test between the two teams. India welcomed back Jasprit Bumrah back in the XI in place of Prasidh Krishna as the only change in the playing XI. England introduced Jofra Archer in place of Josh Tongue. Under glorious sunny conditions, it was England captain Ben Stokes who won the toss and elected to bat first on this occasion.
The English openers played out cautiously and played out the first hour before Nitish Kumar Reddy removed both the openers. Ollie Pope given a reprieve by Shubman Gill off Reddy scored 44 but it was Joe Root who stood up to the plate. Without a century in the first two Tests, the Yorkshireman stood up and scored a majestic Test ton while captain Ben Stokes made 44. Jasprit Bumrah did not start well but was magical on the second morning picking up 5 wickets. But India lost the plot a little bit on Day 2.
First, KL Rahul dropped Jamie Smith when he was on 7 and the keeper batter made India pay by scoring 51 off 56 balls. Then India lost focus due to shape of the Dukes ball which made lot of headlines in this Test match as complaints came from both sides. But Gill and India were animated and lost focus on job in hand. It allowed the tail to wag with Brydon Carse chipping in with 56 off 83 balls as well as England with the help of 31 extras finished with 387 in 112.3 overs. Apart from Bumrah, Siraj, Reddy picked up a couple of wickets apiece while Ravindra Jadeja had a wicket to his name.
In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal hit three boundaries off Chris Woakes to get himself going before Jofra Archer removed him and made sure it was a short stay for him. Karun Nair looked good while he was there but scoring 30s and 40s does not help while batting up the order. He made 40. A rare failure for captain Shubman Gill as he fell for 16 but KL Rahul stood tall and scored a majestic 100 off 177 balls. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant hurt his finger while keeping and went off the field as Dhruv Jurel kept wickets.
Pant came out to bat and batted really well for his 74 off 112 balls as he played his natural game and mixed caution with aggression. But the big moment in the game came just before Lunch on Day 3 as Ben Stokes ran him out as at that stage it looked India might take a first innings lead. But it meant England had a foot in the door. Rahul got a 100 and got out while Ravindra Jadeja made 72 off 131 valuable runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with 30 while Washington Sundar made 23 as India also finished at 387 in 119.2 overs. The scores were tied after the first innings and it was an one innings Test match.
Few sparks and intense moments flew between India and England as Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett did gamesmanship and took their time at the fag end of Day 3 as they only wanted to face one over before stumps. Shubman Gill was animated and so were India as Gill told the English openers to grow up and expletives were exchanged. This incident spiced up the contest and motivated both teams to do well.
Day 4 turned out to be a crucial and topsy-turvy day for both teams as they wanted to give their best. The English openers got starts and got out. Ollie Pope got out for a low score while Joe Root made a gritty 40. Harry Brook made a quickfire 23 and Ben Stokes made a gritty 33. But India bounced back and bowled England out for 192 after England were 154/4 at one stage. The star turn was done by an unexpected hero as Washington Sundar picked up 4/22 in 12.1 overs and was helped by 2 wickets apiece from Bumrah and Siraj while Nitish Reddy and Akash Deep also picked up a wicket. It meant that India now needed 193 runs to win and take a 2-1 series lead.
The Indian Cricket Team and their fans would have felt confident chasing 193 down, but the pitch was deteriorating and England knew they had a fighting chance as well as India came out to bat at the fag end of Day 4. But what followed will give nightmares to the Indian team and their fans forever as the batting that did so well in the series so far began to collapse. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to a lose shot to Archer for the second time in this match as he gave his wicket away. Karun Nair flattered to deceive again as he fell for 14 to Brydon Carse.
The Indian captain Shubman Gill was sent back early as he fell to an incoming delivery from Carse for 6 while Akash Deep the night watchman fell at the stroke of stumps to captain Ben Stokes for 1 as India were reduced to 58/4 at the close of play on Day 4 and in trouble. KL Rahul was still there and was joined by Rishabh Pant when play commenced on the final day. Pant with injured finger managed to hit a couple of boundaries but he soon fell for 9 off 12 balls to Jofra Archer. England captain Ben Stokes stepped up and got rid of KL Rahul for 39 off 58 balls thanks to a successful use of DRS. Washington Sundar sent up the order went for a duck as India were reduced to 82/7 and all hopes were dashed at this point of time.
But India through Ravindra Jadeja was not ready to throw in the towel as he hung in there as much as he could. Nitish Kumar Reddy came out and scored 13 off 53 balls trying to hang in with Jadeja but he too fell to Woakes at the stroke of Lunch on Day 5 leaving India in tatters at 112/8 still 81 short of the target. The general feeling was the Test match will be wrapped up sooner rather than later with Bumrah and Siraj coming in and Jadeja left high and dry.
But they fought like warriors one would have to say that. Jadeja from time to time played his shots and took singles off the 4th or 5th ball of the over to give striker to Bumrah and then eventually Siraj. Bumrah played 54 balls for his 5 runs before he was dismissed by England captain Ben Stokes as India were 147/9 when Mohammed Siraj walked out to join Jadeja. Jadeja was farming the strike and tried his best playing with the tail.
Siraj, to his credit hung in there as India got closer to the target. The last wicket pair added 23 runs and took out overs as play went into the final session of Day 5. Siraj hung in for 30 balls for his 4. But with India 23 adrift of the target, Siraj played a Shoaib Bashir delivery back onto the stumps and we saw contrasting of emotions on the field. Siraj and Jadeja were distraught while England were jubilant. A heroic effort from Jadeja turned out to be in vain as his unbeaten 61 off 181 balls turned out to be in vain. But Indian fans will never forget the fight shown by the lower order batters from 82/7 to come to 170 was a great effort but England had the last laugh as they won the Lord’s Test by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the 5-match series.
There were notable performances from both sides in this Test match as there was hardly something to choose between the two sides. But for his all-round display more with the ball than bat and for his stellar leadership under pressure, England captain Ben Stokes was awarded the Player of the Match Award as England went to Manchester 2-1 up in the series with India having to do the chasing again in the series.
Both teams got 8-9 days after Lord’s Test to recharge their batteries as the bandwagon moved to Manchester at Old Trafford for the 4th Test match which began on 23rd July 2025. The Women’s Team of England and India took centre stage from 15th July to 22nd July with their 3-match ODI series which India won 2-1, but it was time to get down to business at Manchester in this crucial 4th Test match. Both teams made changes to their XI. England with a forced one where Liam Dawson replaced injured Shoaib Bashir. India also had to ring in the changes with injuries to their camp and form. Sai Sudharsan was back in the side in place of Karun Nair while Shardul Thakur replaced inured Nitish Kumar Reddy. Anshul Kamboj earned his maiden call-up in place of injured Akash Deep. Bumrah played this Test match.
England won the toss and decided to bowl first under overcast conditions. The Indian openers negotiated the first session really well and put on 94 for the first wicket before KL Rahul fell for 46 to Chris Woakes. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a patient 58 as he showed tremendous grit out in the middle. Sai Sudharsan back in the side scored a gutsy 61 off 151 balls battling the English bowling to perfection before giving his wicket away. Captain Shubman Gill missed out again getting dismissed for only 12 runs. There was another incident that really hurt India and happened on Day 1 itself.
Rishabh Pant who had a finger injury at Lord’s and couldn’t keep wickets there was fit for this game and came out to play some audacious shots. While trying to play a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes, Pant got hit on the toe and was in agonising pain. Later, it was revealed he had a fracture and won’t keep wickets and may bat if necessary. Pant was on 37* when he left the field on Day 1. But he walked back heroically on Day 2 with the broken toe to a standing ovation and made a gritty half-century through the pain and scored 54 off 75 balls showing the character that Indian team was made of.
Ravindra Jadeja managed 20 while Shardul Thakur managed to score a valuable 41 while Washington Sundar made 27. But no one scored a hundred as India were bowled out for 358 in 114.1 overs with Ben Stokes the captain leading from the front with 5 wickets while Jofra Archer bowled well for his 3 wickets as well. Chris Woakes and Liam Dawson got a wicket each.
England came out to bat and plundered Indian bowling. The openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on 166 for the first wicket to lay the platform with Crawley scoring 84 and Duckett 94. Ollie Pope made 71 while Joe Root was a class apart as he notched up a big hundred scoring 150 and moved up the ladder to be the second highest scorer in Test Cricket. He is now only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar. Harry Brook might have missed out but Ben Stokes the captain led from the front this time with bat scoring a century after 2 years as he made 141. Liam Dawson made 26 while Brydon Carse made 47 as the tail wagged as well. England made a massive 669 runs in 157.1 overs with 38 extras given by India.
It was a hard toil for the Indian bowlers with Ravindra Jadeja getting 4 wickets and Washington Sundar getting a couple of wickets. The pacers were ineffective with Jasprit Bumrah going for over 100 runs for the first time in his Test career as he picked up 2 wickets. The debutant Anshul Kamboj and Mohammed Siraj got a wicket each but were not impressive at all while Shardul Thakur was used for 11 overs and went for 55 runs. It meant England had a 311-run first innings lead and could not lose the Test match from this position.
India were rocked early in the second innings as Chris Woakes sent Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan back in consecutive deliveries to leave the visitors at 0/2 and at this point it looked the Test match will get over in 4 days and England will have the series win. But then what followed post Lunch on Day 4 will be remembered by every Indian fans as the fightback started to happen for India. First, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill started the fightback showing great character as India went through two back-to-back sessions wicketless as they were 2 down at close of play. Rahul and Gill put on 188 for the third wicket to bring India back on track before Rahul was pinged right in front by Ben Stokes as the Indian opener missed out on a hundred by 10 runs as he made 90 off 230 balls.
Captain Shubman Gill showed character and weathered the storm himself as he notched up a gritty hundred as his 103 came off 238 balls before Jofra Archer prized him out. Despite the heroics by Rahul and Gill, England managed to dismiss them in the morning session of Day 5 and India were not out of the woods at 222/4. Then Washington Sundar walked out to bat at 5 while Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat at 6.
The duo then formed an unbelievable partnership and first took India to Tea as India ensured another wicketless session. By Tea, India had gotten into the lead and now time became a factor to produce a result. After Tea on Day 5, they kept going and did not give England a chance as the pitch also flattened out a lot. There was also an unfortunate moment when with 15 overs left, and no chance of a result Ben Stokes offered a handshake to the two batters, but they refused as they wanted to complete their hundreds. This infuriated Stokes and England as words were exchanged between the players.
England bowled Joe Root and Harry Brook in this spell as Jadeja and Sundar took advantage of the situation and both completed their respective tons. Sundar made an unbeaten 101 off 206 balls while Jadeja was the aggressor of the two as he made an unbeaten 107 off 185 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 203 for the 5th wicket as play was called finally called off with 10 overs to spare as the match ended in a draw.
India managed to keep the series alive although they could not win it but they could at least draw the series if they win at the Oval. For his all-round performance with both bat and ball, Ben Stokes was awarded the Player of the Match for the second game in a row. But this Test took a lot out of Stokes and others, and with back-to-back Test matches now to finish the series, we expected wholesale changes at the Oval. England still had a 2-1 lead with one match to go now.
The final chapter of this long and epic series moved to the Oval in London for the 5th and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. There was controversy ahead of the match as Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir had an altercation with the Oval curator Lee Fortis on inspecting the pitch which created a huge uproar everywhere. So, there was spice in the game and on matchday, we got to know that both teams made 4 changes each to their side.
England lost out on the services of their captain Ben Stokes due to shoulder injury which was a Grade 3 Tear. So, Stokes, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Liam Dawson made way for Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue. India decided to match England by making 4 changes themselves. Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna came into the side in place of Shardul Thakur, injured Rishabh Pant, Anshul Kamboj, and Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah had already played 3 Test matches as was predicted .
Under grey overcast conditions, England won another toss and decided to bowl first on a pitch that was green and typical bowler-friendly conditions. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early as Gus Atkinson made an immediate impact. KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan fought out there but could not contribute much as Rahul made 14 while Sai made 38. Shubman Gill looked good while he was out there and made 21 runs before being run out. Ravindra Jadeja missed out this time while Jurel made 19.
There was also a moment in the Test match that changed the complexion of the game on Day 1. Chris Woakes while running after the ball dived and hurt his left shoulder which unfortunately turned into dislocation which meant he could play no further part in the Test match. He could bat if needed but surely couldn’t bowl anymore as England were a man down now. Meanwhile, Karun Nair scored a gritty half century as he made 57 while Washington Sundar made 26. England did well on Day 2 morning wiping out India for 224 in 69.4 overs with Gus Atkinson picking up 5/33 in 21.4 overs while Josh Tongue chipped in with 3/57 in 16 overs.
England came out all guns blazing in their first innings as they tore the Indian attack of Siraj-Krishna-Akash Deep apart. The duo put on 92 for the first wicket in 12.5 overs before Duckett fell for 43 off 38 balls to Akash Deep. Zak Crawley fell for 64 off 57 balls to Prasidh Krishna. Ollie Pope made 22 before being dismissed by Siraj. England were going well at 175/3 when Joe Root fell for 29 to Siraj. Then came the Indian fightback with the ball as the lower middle order was wiped out easily. Harry Brook stood there from one end and scored 53 off 64 balls and was the last man out. It meant that England finished with 247 with Woakes absent hurt. England did take the first innings lead but India kept it to 23 runs meant that the Test match was still evenly poised after the first innings of both teams.
India lost KL Rahul early in the second innings as it was a rare failure for the right-hander. Sai Sudharsan missed out as well but Yashasvi Jaiswal stood tall when it really mattered. After scoring a hundred in the series opener at Leeds, Jaiswal was without a hundred in the series and now in the final innings at the Oval he stood up. He was helped by two dropped catches at slip and fine leg by Harry Brook and Liam Dawson. But he made England pay by scoring a majestic ton as he made 118 runs. Akash Deep the night watchman was also given a reprieve by England and he made them pay scoring 66. Shubman Gill the captain and Karun Nair got to double digits and got out. Ravindra Jadeja stepped up to the plate once again as he scored 53 off 77 balls.
Dhruv Jurel chipped in with useful 34 off 46 balls while Washington Sundar added 39 valuable runs for the last wicket with Prasidh Krishna out of which Krishna scored 0*. Sundar was the last man to go for 53 off 46 balls. England dropped 5-6 catches in this innings much like India did at Leeds. These catches definitely benefitted India as they made 396 in 88 overs. England were down to three bowlers and they toiled hard and gave their best. Josh Tongue picked up a five-wicket haul and ended with 5/125 in 30 overs. Gus Atkinson chipped in with 3/127 in 27 overs. Jamie Overton got 2 wickets for 98 runs in 22 overs. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root were sparingly used as this was not a pitch for the spinners.
It meant that England needed a record chase of 374 runs to win the match and the series 3-1. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett walked out to bat at the fag end of Day 3 and the openers put on 50 for the first wicket before Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Crawley for 14. Ben Duckett completed another half-century and scored 54 before he was prized out by Prasidh Krishna. Ollie Pope made 27 before Siraj dismissed him for the second time in the game for 27 off 34 balls. England were 106/3 when Joe Root and Harry Brook came together at the crease.
There was a big moment in the game when Brook was batting on 19 as his pull shot off Krishna went to Siraj at deep fine leg. Siraj took the catch and his foot touched the ropes and was given as maximum. This changed the momentum of the game as Root and Brook took the game away from India. Brook was the aggressor of the two while Root played in his own way rotating the strike and playing balls on merit. India lost the plot with ball in hand as the pace trio was conceding runs like fun while England were cruising while these two were in the middle.
Both Brook and Root completed their tons and things looked down and out for India. Brook made 111 off 98 balls and the partnership between Root and Brook was 195 runs which was match defining. England were cruising at 301/3 when Brook gave his wicket away to Akash Deep for 111 runs. Root went onto score yet another ton as it was his 39th Test ton as he made 105. The Brook wicket gave India belief a bit as Jacob Bethell looked frenetic out there and fell for 5 bowled by Krishna. Joe Root soon fell to Prasidh Krishna as India believed in themselves with Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton in the middle. England needed 35 runs and India 4 wickets as we got to know that Chris Woakes will come if needed to bat. Rain and bad light ended proceedings on Day 4 early as we went to the 25th Day of the Test series.
England were still the favourites coming into the final day and Overton hit two boundaries off two balls from Krishna to bring the equation down to 27 with 4 wickets in hand. This is where Mohammed Siraj struck getting rid of Smith for 2. Then he got rid of Jamie Overton for 9 LBW via an Umpire’s call that went India’s way. Josh Tongue survived a LBW on review against Krishna initially but Krishna cleaned up Tongue soon ending his resistance. With 17 needed and one wicket in hand, Oval witnessed a courageous brave act. Chris Woakes was coming out to bat.
Chris Woakes was coming out to bat with his left shoulder in sling and to a standing ovation willing to put his body on the line for his country. But the strategy from England was clear that Woakes will be off strike and Gus Atkinson had to score all the remaining runs if England were to get over the line. Atkinson launched Siraj over wide long-on for maximum as Akash Deep parried it over the fence. It was tense under gloomy conditions at the Oval and the ball doing something meant India did not take second new ball when available.
Atkinson managed to take singles off the last ball of two back-to-back overs as the equation boiled down to 7 runs and one wicket needed for India. That is when Siraj stepped up and delivered a perfect yorker to which Atkinson tried to go through the leg side and missed it. The ball went into crash the stumps. Siraj was delighted and India were pumped up as Atkinson fell for 17. India had come back out of nowhere and pulled off a 6-run win to level the series at 2-2.
India had 3 bowlers bowling for them with Siraj finishing with 5/104 in 30.1 overs while Krishna complimented him well with his 4/126 in 27 overs. Akash Deep got a wicket of Harry Brook as he finished with 1/85 in 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were sparingly used much like England’s spinners as there was nothing for the spinners. Mohammed Siraj was awarded the Player of the Match while India’s Player of the Series was Shubman Gill who amassed 754 runs in this series. England’s Player of the Series and Player of the Summer was given to Harry Brook.
This win gave a lot of jubilation for the Indian fans and viewers alike as it was a young captain on his first assignment, making a lot of mistakes but coming out trumps and drawing the series 2-2 away from home against experienced England was a great effort from India. In hindsight, could India have won the series? Yes, maybe, but same can be said of England. So, both teams had their moments and it turned out to be a series to remember for everyone as all the Test matches went to the 5th day and so, we saw 25 days of hard fought cricket.
Conclusion.
The India-England series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy was epic in more ways than one and it has been historic as well. India have come back from the backs to their walls multiple times and have roared like a lion. They did really well to draw the series 2-2. If we look at the leading run-scorer in this series, Shubman Gill the Indian captain was head and shoulders above all with 754 runs with next best Joe Root on 537 runs more than 200 runs behind. KL Rahul roared as well with 532 runs.
The leading wicket-taker in the series was Mohammed Siraj also an Indian who picked up 23 wickets and was the only pace bowler from both sides to last all 5 Tests and played them without getting injured. England’s Josh Tongue with only 3 games played was second with 19 wickets followed by England’s captain Ben Stokes with 17 wickets in 4 matches. Jasprit Bumrah had 14 wickets in 3 matches and same was the case with Prasidh Krishna.
India won more sessions than England and deserved to draw level the series 2-2 as a 3-1 series win for England would indeed have been a travesty of justice. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy created a world record as well as a total of 7,187 runs were scored in the series which is a world record for a 5-Test match series. There were 21 centuries scored by both teams in this particular series and 14 team totals exceeded 300+ which showed that for most parts the bat dominated the ball. Also, there were 19 century plus partnerships were scored by both teams.
50 batters from both teams combined scored at least 50 runs. Out of the 21 centuries made in the series, once again India outperformed England by hitting 12 centuries and England hit remaining 9. Amongst the Indian centurions were captain Shubman Gill, Openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal and keeper batter Rishabh Pant who missed the last Test due to injury. So, once again this showed that India roared like a lion, and if they had the wherewithal to seize key moments in the other games, who knows India might have been victors in this series. But England can claim the same in the last two Test matches.
All in all, a 2-2 was a fair result for both teams given how competitive the series was. It was compelling viewing for everyone. All 5 Test matches went to the final day. So, we had 25 days of compelling cricket and in the end, neither of the teams could be separated and it ended in a 2-2 draw. India had to come from behind in this series twice and they did that with flying colours. Under a young captain in Shubman Gill, India defied the expectations to draw the series and things might be looking upwards as there could be a light at the end of a long tunnel.
There are still areas to work on for India in Tests going forward. The Number 3 position needs to be sorted as it has been a revolving door since the retirement of Cheteshwar Pujara. Various players have been tried out at that position including Shubman Gill who has settled himself at Number 4. But none of them has got a long consistent run at that number. In the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 we saw Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair occupying the Number 3 slot with Sai in 3 Test matches and Karun in the other two games. Sai did decently while Karun was hot and cold.
Number 3 is not a position to be experimenting about and the sooner our head coach Gautam Gambhir realises that, the better it is for Team India. For all we know, Abhimanyu Easwaran may get a go in the home season because the head coach has all the powers and is unpredictable to say the least. India also needs to figure out Number 6 where they may want a specialist batter than an all-rounder. These two areas India has to look at ahead of the home season that is coming up immediately.
India should do well in the home Test matches starting from October 2nd. They have West Indies for 2 Test matches and then host South Africa in November for 2 more Test matches. South Africa, the current WTC holders may give a tough fight to the Indians for sure. But India will start both the series as favourites. As far as this series goes, India roared in England, and while they could not win their first series since 2007, they captured the hearts and minds of everyone around the world. This Indian team showed tremendous grit, character and patience to fight it out there and pushed England to the limit. It was one of the greatest series to be a part of watching and observing from the distance.
Also Read: ENG vs IND: Atherton Hails India-England Thriller as Best Series Since 2005 Ashes