India vs England 1st Test:
The first match of the five-Test series began at the Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds on June 20 (Friday). The opening day's play has ended with Team India scoring 359 for the loss of 3 wickets. Shubman Gill is unbeaten at 127, while Rishabh Pant stands tall with 65 not out. Together, they have built a partnership of 138 runs for the fourth wicket from 198 balls.
Shubman Gill faced 175 balls, finding the boundary 16 times along with a magnificent six. Rishabh Pant contributed with 6 fours and 2 sixes during his innings, giving the Indian innings significant momentum. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also set the field ablaze with a commendable century (101 runs).
Highlights of India’s First Day Innings
Winning the toss, India chose to bat first and started strongly. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 91-run partnership for the first wicket. This opening stand ended when KL Rahul was caught by Joe Root off Brydon Carse for 42 from 78 balls, hitting 8 fours. Debutant Sai Sudharsan was dismissed by Ben Stokes shortly before lunch without opening his account.
After lunch, the innings was fortified by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, forming a substantial partnership. Yashasvi Jaiswal reached his half-century in just 96 balls with 8 fours, while Shubman Gill crossed the 50-mark with 56 balls. Shubman became the ninth Indian to score 50 or more as a debut Test captain and holds the record as the youngest (25 years and 285 days) to achieve this feat.
Just before tea, Yashasvi celebrated his fifth Test century off 144 balls. However, post-century, Ben Stokes bowled him out. He scored 101 runs off 159 balls with 16 fours and 1 six. Together with Shubman Gill, they built a partnership of 129 runs for the third wicket.
Post Yashasvi's departure, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant carried the innings forward with another prolific stand, giving India a solid position with their century partnership for the fourth wicket. Shubman Gill achieved his century in 140 balls with 14 fours, while Rishabh Pant took just 91 balls for his half-century, featuring 5 fours and a six.
Scorecard so far: India's First Innings: 359/3 in 85 overs
Fall of Wickets:
91-1 (KL Rahul, 24.5 overs), 92-2 (Sai Sudharsan, 25.4 overs), 221-3 (Yashasvi Jaiswal, 52.3 overs)
Sai Sudharsan, given a chance in this match, batted at number three. He received his Test cap from the seasoned batter Cheteshwar Pujara, becoming India's 317th Test player. Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur also secured their spots in the playing eleven.
India has not won a Test series in England for 18 years. Their last triumph came under Rahul Dravid's captaincy in 2007. Since then, India faced series defeats in 2011 and 2014 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and played to a draw in 2022 under Virat Kohli after a series defeat in 2018.
Alongside Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Ajit Wadekar are other captains who led India to victory in England. India won the series 2-0 under Kapil Dev in 1986 and prevailed 1-0 under Ajit Wadekar in 1971.
England's Playing Eleven:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
India's Playing Eleven:
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain/wicketkeeper), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
Indian Squad:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain/wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Karun Nair, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
India vs England H2H (Test Cricket)
Total Tests: 136 India Won: 35 England Won: 51 Draw: 50
India-England Tests Head-to-Head in England
Total Tests: 67 India Won: 9 England Won: 36 Draw: 22
India-England Tests Head-to-Head in India
Total Tests: 69 India Won: 26 England Won: 15 Draw: 28
India-England Test Series Schedule
First Test: June 20-24, Headingley (Leeds) Second Test: July 2-6, Edgbaston (Birmingham) Third Test: July 10-14, Lord's (London) Fourth Test: July 23-27, Old Trafford (Manchester) Fifth Test: July 31-August 4, The Oval (London)
