ENG vs IND, 2025, 1st Test, Day 5: England chase target of 371 without breaking a sweat

ENG vs IND 2025, 1st Test Day 5 Highlights: Duckett’s 149, Crawley’s 65 guide England to record chase of 371 and 1-0 series lead.

Brief Scores: England 373/5 (Ben Duckett 149, Zak Crawley 66, Shardul Thakur 2/51) & 465 (Ollie Pope 106, Jasprit Bumrah 5/83) beat India 471 (Shubman Gill 147, Rishabh Pant 134, Ben Stokes 4/66) & 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118, Josh Tongue 3/72) by 5-wickets and take 1-0 lead. 

After four days of exciting cricket from England and India, the equation came to the fifth day of the opening Test at Headingley. The home side needed 350 runs in 90 remaining overs with all their wickets in hand. For the tourists, the bulk of the responsibility was on Jasprit Bumrah. 

It was an overcast start to the game, with clouds in the sky. India didn’t mind the condition as the hard new ball got enough help to swing early on. 

Even on the fifth day, the surface looked good for batting. However, there were a few patches on the left-hander’s off-stump. The wide holes made life tough for the batters occasionally in the third innings of the game with univariable bounce. 

Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 1st Test, Day 4: Pant, Rahul tons help India set target of 371; England 21-0

Let’s take a look at how the three sessions panned out on Day 5 of the first Test in the ENG vs IND 2025 series: 

Zak Crawley & Ben Duckett take England to 117/0
Under grey skies, both the overnight openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, took their time at the start of the session. On rare deliveries, they looked to attack, especially once Bumrah’s opening spell was completed. Mohammed Siraj bowled well from the other end. 

But as it had been an issue in the first innings, India struggled with the change of pacers. Both Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur leaked easy runs. None of them were able to bowl at the same spot for longer periods to create pressure. 

Duckett celebrated his 15th red-ball fifty quite easily. The unbeaten 117-run stand between him and Crawley nearly killed the tourists’ chance of winning the fixture.  

Shardul Thakur’s successive wickets charge India up after Duckett’s 149
The second session was about several intervals due to rain. Prasidh Krishna found Crawley’s outside edge as KL Rahul grabbed a fine catch at slips. But Duckett continued his aggressive batting and celebrated a fine 149-run potential match-winning knock. 

Just when India’s wheels were coming off, they got the vital oxygen from Shardul Thakur. The Mumbai bowler sent back the southpaw opener. On the very next ball, Harry Brook got an unlucky edge down the leg side to bring the visitors back in the game. 

England went to tea with 269/4, needing 102 more runs to win. 

Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 1st Test, Day 3: Game on knife-edge with India 96 ahead and 8 wickets in hand

England earn 5-wicket victory; take 1-0 lead 
India’s sloppy fielding continued in the third session. They were not committed to the action on many occasions in the form of various fumbles and drops. Ravindra Jadeja finally dismissed Ben Stokes, who tried to reverse sweep the spinner out of the rough. 

England didn’t let India plan with the new ball. Both Joe Root and Jamie Smith looked to tick the scorecard with singles and doubles. Pressure climbed on young captain Gill. 

Root celebrated his 66th red-ball half-century to guide them to an impressive victory by five wickets. 

What’s next
With England’s victory, they take a 1-0 lead going into the second game. It will be interesting to see if Bumrah and the other pacers pull up well for the upcoming fixture. But India will feel the pressure of the defeat even after being ahead on several periods of the game. 

Both teams will now travel to Edgbaston in Birmingham for the second of the five-match Test series, starting on July 02. 

Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 1st Test, Day 2: Bumrah the lone fighter with 3-48; England 209-3 in reply to 471 

Statistical Highlights from England vs India 2025, 1st Test, Day 5

• Crawley and Duckett crossed the 2000-run partnership runs since January 2022 in Tests. 
• Crawley and Duckett’s partnership (188) is the highest opening stand in the fourth innings of a Test in Headingley. 
• Crawley & Duckett now have the highest opening partnership (188) in the fourth innings for England against India in Tests.
• Duckett has crossed the 2500-run mark in Tests.
• Duckett is now the fifth centurion for England against India in the fourth innings.
• Crawley has the third most Test runs (544) in the fourth innings since Jan 2022. 
• Crawley and Duckett’s 188-run stand is England’s second-best fourth-innings opening stand in Tests. 
• Duckett (149) has smashed the highest fourth-innings individual score in a Test against India. 
• Since Jan 2023, Duckett is the second leading run-getter in Tests with 2154 runs behind Joe Root. 
• England’s (X) is the second successful fourth-innings chase in a Test match against India. It also becomes their second-biggest successful chase ever. 
• This is the first time a team (India) have lost a Test match even after scoring five Test centuries. The previous instance was 1928/29 when Australia lost to England after scoring four centuries. 

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