India etched an unfortunate chapter in Test cricket history as they became the first team ever to lose a match despite scoring five individual centuries, falling to England by five wickets in the opening Test of the five-match series at Headingley, Leeds.
In a high-scoring contest that witnessed 1,673 runs across both innings—the most ever in a Test between England and India—India’s batting lineup delivered a dominant performance on paper. The visitors posted five hundreds: Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147), and Rishabh Pant (134) in the first innings, followed by KL Rahul (137) and another ton by Pant (118) in the second. Despite the remarkable effort, India were unable to defend a 371-run target on the final day.
The result set a new statistical benchmark. No team in the 147-year history of Test cricket had previously lost a match after five individual players reached triple figures. The previous closest instance came in 1928, when Australia lost to England in Melbourne despite scoring four centuries.
England’s successful chase of 371 also marked the second-highest fourth-innings total ever achieved on the final scheduled day of a Test. Only Don Bradman’s Australia in 1948, who chased 404 at Headingley, have bettered the feat.
The match culminated in a near-perfect display of fourth-innings batting by England, with Ben Duckett leading the charge. His 149 set the platform, while Zak Crawley (65), Joe Root (53*), and debutant Jamie Smith (44*) provided crucial support to see the team home in just 82 overs. Duckett’s match-winning performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
India’s aggregate of 835 runs across both innings now stands as the fourth-highest match total by a team ending up on the losing side in Test history.
The defeat also handed England a 1-0 lead in the series and underscored their formidable batting depth under pressure. For India, despite individual brilliance with the bat, the match exposed lapses in fielding and a lack of penetration from the bowling attack on the final day.
Brief Scores:
- India: 471 & 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118; Josh Tongue 3/72)
- England: 373/5 (Ben Duckett 149, Zak Crawley 65; Shardul Thakur 2/51)
- Result: England won by 5 wickets
- Series: England lead 1-0