England pulled off a record-breaking run chase to beat India by five wickets in the opening Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Headingley on Tuesday, thanks to Ben Duckett’s sublime 149 and a cool-headed finish by Joe Root (53*) and debutant Jamie Smith (44*).
Set 371 for victory on a deteriorating final-day pitch, England romped home in just 82 overs — completing their second-highest successful chase in Test history and the highest ever at Headingley.
Awesome Test to be part of, chasing a big total on the last day. Duckett was unbelievable. His stand with Crawley set it up. You don't know what’ll happen before a ball’s bowled, but we backed ourselves to go for the win.
After resuming on 21/0, Duckett and Zak Crawley (65) launched a blistering 188-run opening stand that flattened India's attack. Duckett was all class, punishing anything short or wide in a 170-ball innings that tilted the balance decisively.
We knew we needed a strong start. Once we got going, the belief in the dressing room just grew.
India hit back briefly as Shardul Thakur removed Duckett and Harry Brook in the same over, triggering a mini-collapse. But Root, playing at his home ground, brought calm to the chase, anchoring two crucial partnerships — 52 with Stokes (33) and an unbeaten 71-run stand with Smith to seal the game.
It’s always special to contribute at Headingley. The crowd was fantastic and Jamie (Smith) showed great composure. We just had to keep our heads.
Smith fittingly hit the winning runs with a slog-sweep for six off Jadeja — the kind of swagger England’s Bazball ethos thrives on. India were left ruing their missed chances — six dropped catches and a series of misfields cost them dearly.
We had our chances but didn’t grab them: Our lower order didn’t contribute much, and we dropped too many. On a pitch like this, you can’t afford that.
Gill, however, credited England for their fearless approach. “Duckett and Root played brilliantly. It’s a young team for us and a learning experience. We’ll bounce back.”
India dominated large portions of the match, especially after posting 471 in the first innings on the back of centuries from Gill (147), Pant (134) and Jaiswal (101). But they squandered strong positions in both innings — collapsing from 430/3 to 471 all out, and later from 333/4 to 364 in their second dig.
Despite KL Rahul (137) and Pant (118) producing another stellar stand, India’s recurring late-order failures and expensive spells from Prasidh Krishna and a wicketless Jasprit Bumrah proved costly.
The match also entered the history books as just the third Test ever where all four innings produced 350+ scores, and marked the third time Headingley has hosted a successful 350+ chase — underlining its legend as a ground of epic finals.
England now lead the five-match series 1-0, with the second Test set to begin at Trent Bridge.
Brief Scores: India 471 & 364 England 465 & 373/5 in 82 overs (Ben Duckett 149, Joe Root 53*, Zak Crawley 65; Shardul Thakur 2-28, Prasidh Krishna 2-69). England won by 5 wickets.
