England finally came out on top against India in the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley. After five days of intense cricket featuring everything from exceptional batting to gritty bowling, the hosts clinched victory by 5 wickets. The English side delivered a phenomenal performance, despite conceding many runs on a good batting surface, they responded impressively with contributions from all batters.
England stun India with a record chase at Headingley
In the fourth innings, chasing a massive target of 371 runs, the hosts were never truly out of the contest. They began strongly with a phenomenal opening partnership of 188 runs in 256 balls between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, laying a solid foundation for the chase. However, the innings briefly lost momentum before Tea with the fall of quick wickets. But the ever-reliable Joe Root anchored the innings with a composed knock, guiding his side to a memorable victory.
Earlier, in the match, England mounted a remarkable fightback trailing by 471 runs in their first innings. Ollie Pope led the charge with a brisk century, supported by Harry Brook’s heartbreaking 99 and a crucial 38 from all-rounder Chris Woakes down the order. Five of England’s eleven batters crossed the 30-run mark, highlighting a strong collective response.
In the bowling department, pacer Josh Tongue led the attack with an impressive haul of 7 wickets in the match, supported by skipper Ben Stokes. However, the hosts struggled in the spin department, with young Shoaib Bashir conceding too many runs and offering only occasional breakthroughs.
The Indian side falters despite being brilliant with the bat
For India, it was a heartbreaking start to their new chapter in Test cricket. This match marked the first time in Test history that a team lost despite scoring five centuries across both innings. The standout performer with the bat was Rishabh Pant, who scored twin centuries in the match. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul also contributed with composed hundreds.
However, it was in the bowling department where the visitors fell short against England’s strong batting lineup. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed a fiery five-wicket haul in the first innings, the rest of the bowlers struggled with poor line and length, conceding runs at a significant rate. Additionally, India’s fielding was marked by dropped catches and sloppy efforts in the field. To stay competitive in the series, the team must regroup and address these shortcomings swiftly.
Also WATCH: Ravindra Jadeja’s playful fist gesture with umpire wins hearts on Day 5 of Headingley Test
Here’s how fans reacted:
🚨 INDIA BECOMES THE FIRST TEAM TO LOSS A TEST AFTER SCORING FIVE HUNDREDS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5Ll11JvJ9D
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 24, 2025
Five Hundreds.
Three 130+ scores.
Record breaking back to back centuries.
Bowlers like Bumrah.
371 Target.Yet we failed.
Was it England’s batting masterclass or Indian bowling scam?#INDvsENG
— Arjun (@HeyyyArjun) June 24, 2025
Defeating Ben Stokes and his team is no cup of tea. Congratulations to England on winning the 1st Test against India.#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/RV2bKjV5cB
— εмρεяσя (@EmperorVK) June 24, 2025
India becomes the first team in Test cricket history to lose a match after having 5 individual centuries, time to sack – Morne Morkel, T Dilip and and and….. Gambhir from Test side…. #INDvsENG
— Abhinandan (@Abhinandan_twt) June 24, 2025
Tough luck @ShubmanGill & team. We’ll tried. Drop catches & collapses costed us this one.
This team should show a lot of character to recover from here. Wish they do! #INDvsENG @BCCI pic.twitter.com/wxNj53tX8j
— Kishan Kumar (@Kishan_Janasena) June 24, 2025
That’s what you get when you pick a team based on #IPL performances instead of red ball cricket merit. @BCCI #INDvsENG
— Rajarshi (@DinkinFlickaaa) June 24, 2025
Prasidh krishna gave us worst performance in this decade by test bowler …i still don’t get the reason of giving him spell when few runs are left to defend ….!!
— Shaquib Nazeer (@NazeerShaquib) June 24, 2025
🚨Bumhra bhai tu wapas aaja🚨
Ye team tujhe deserve nhi krti.#INDvsENG #LeedsTest pic.twitter.com/rbt71NQKue— ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ ᴊᴀʀꜱᴜ (@ImJarsu64) June 24, 2025
Team India had so many opportunities to siege this game but lost all of them in those 5 days. Top win from England after coming from behind. #INDvsENG
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 24, 2025
To have 4 guys score 5 centuries in the test match and still end up losing shows how little the others contributed.
Also shows how poor was the selection. #INDvsENG #INDvsENGTest #INDvsENG2025 #INDVsENGLive #ENGvIND #Cricket @bhogleharsha @vikrantgupta73 @BCCI— Farhan Khan (@Farhan222) June 24, 2025
India’s fielding is a big fat joke. #INDvsENG
— Aparupa Das (@Aparupa82230919) June 24, 2025
Those who are saying captaincy doesn’t matter in test cricket. Ajinkya Rahane won us the BGT in 2021 with Net bowlers, a captain always make the difference & Gill will be the fush captain of indian team and he is the original copy of babar #cricket #indvseng #pant #INDvsENG
— Ritesh Divedi (@RiteshDivedi09) June 24, 2025
“3 Test losses. 3 captains. Same result. It’s not about the leader — it’s about the bowling. Test matches are won by bowlers, not captaincy hype. #INDvsENG | #BCCI pic.twitter.com/CeVWzvrnLm
— Nivas Manepalli (@SrinivasManep10) June 24, 2025
India blindly Missing virat kohli 🥹#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/bh5YGJEk2H
— Jatoth Ganesh (@Jatoth18) June 24, 2025
India k Bowlers ne Saari india ki batting ki Mehnat ko Aang lagadiya 🫣👀#INDvsENG
— Abdullah Ashfaq Speaks 🗣️ (@AbdullahAs73675) June 24, 2025
England pulls off a record chase against India 👉 https://t.co/b7bJ6Vf6vs#cricket #ENGvIND #Testmatch pic.twitter.com/G9VKSmYAAI
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) June 24, 2025
Also READ: Fans react as Ben Duckett slams 4th innings century, England unleash Bazball at Headingley
