ENG vs IND 2025: Series-defining performances that epitomised excellence – From Siraj’s 9-wicket haul to Jaiswal’s run fest.
The entire cricketing fraternity is still in awe of the recently concluded Anderson Tendulkar Trophy 2025. While the series ended in a stalemate, with both teams winning two games apiece in this five-match Test series, there were many ebbs and flows.
All five Tests went till the final day, something that is not common in a series. Except both teams were neck-to-neck in most of these games. Except for the Test match at Edgbaston, the rest of the games went to the wire.
In such a closely contested series, there were plenty of individual brilliances that tilted the game in either side’s favor.
Let’s list down some of them below:
Ben Duckett – 149 (2nd innings – Leeds)
In the very first Test match of the series at Headingley, England were in pursuit of 371, and eventually they achieved it. This went on to be their second-highest successful chase in the format and the highest ever at this venue.
The main architect of this mammoth win for England in this particular run-chase was their opener, Ben Duckett. He, along with his opening partner Zak Crawley, gave the home team a rollicking start. The left-hander, following up his 62 in the first innings, made a strong beginning in the second essay and almost made a mockery of a tall run-chase.
Duckett got to his second half-century of the game in 66 balls, before taking only 55 more deliveries to convert it to his sixth Test ton. By this time of dismissal on 149, Duckett single-handedly made more than 50% of England’s score (253/3) and crossed almost 40% of the target, putting the team in pole position.
His stunning knock came in just 170 balls and eased the pressure on the rest of the batters to follow. England eventually stormed through the chase in a canter by five wickets and started the series with a win.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 1st Test, Day 5: England chase target of 371 without breaking a sweat
Ben Stokes (77 runs and 5/113)- Lord’s
In one of the most gripping Test matches one will ever witness, it was Ben Stokes’ all-round efforts that stood tall and took his team past the finish line. The England skipper made a crucial 44 in the first innings and played a key supporting act to centurion Joe Root, propelling their total to 387.
With the ball, he brought his A game by dismissing well-set batters Karun Nair and Nitish Reddy. And on the field, he induced a game-changing moment by producing a run-out out of nowhere to dismiss Rishabh Pant, who was batting on 74. This triggered a batting collapse and was a key reason why England didn’t give away any lead.
On a tricky fourth-day track, he batted for 96 balls to score his 33 and help England set a competitive target of 193. With no Shoaib Bashir in the final innings, the onus fell on the other bowlers to bowl long spells, and Stokes led by example by not only bowling a whopping 24 overs but also claiming three crucial wickets & keeping the scoring rate in check.
His relentless efforts over these five days earned England a 22-run win in a Test match that can be called one of the all-time classics.
Read More: Ben Stokes: Not just a leader but clutch player made of a different mettle
Akash Deep – (4/88 and 6/99) at Edgbaston
Not featuring in the first Test at Leeds, Akash Deep had big shoes to fill as he came into the XI in Birmingham, replacing Jasprit Bumrah. With a solid batting performance, scoring 587 runs in the first innings, India was already in a strong position, and it was only enhanced by the opening spell of Akash Deep.
The pacer found the edge of first Test hero Ben Duckett on duck, before dismissing an in-form Ollie Pope, very next ball. Just when the game was slowly slipping away from the hands of India, thanks to a massive 303-run stand between Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, Akash castled the former to give the team a breakthrough.
This eventually triggered a collapse, and India gained a significant lead of 190 runs in the first innings. After a powerful batting performance in the second essay, India set England a daunting target of 608 runs, and it was Akash Deep’s show yet again with the ball. The pacer removed four of England’s top five with a score of just 83 on the board, and then accounted for both Jamie Smith (88) and Brydon Carse, who was amidst a frustrating stand to finish the game for India.
Akash Deep ended the Test with his maiden ten-wicket haul, a great achievement in a game that was dominated by the batters.
Read More: Akash Deep’s bowling smarts & effectiveness with new ball make him stand out
Shubman Gill – (269 and 161) at Edgbaston
If it were Akash Deep who bowled away England with his heroic spell, Shubman Gill was instrumental in taking India to a position of strength. After starting his captaincy stint by scoring a century at Leeds in the first Test, Gill continued his great form by notching up a second century in as many Tests as a skipper.
But only this time, it was a proper statement from the bat of Gill, and a knock that will forever remain etched in the annals of Indian cricket. Coming to this sensational 269, Gill solidified India’s batting innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, but once the latter departed, India collapsed to 5/211, on what was a great batting surface.
He then forged a massive 203-run stand for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja and then took center stage while batting with the tail. This propelled India’s first innings total to 587, and then eventually gave them a 190-run lead over England.
The second innings was again all about Gill as he piled more misery on English bowlers, making 161 and setting England a target of 608. With this, he became only the third Indian captain to score twin hundreds in Tests, the only batter after Allan Border to hammer two 150+ plus in a Test match, and the second highest aggregate by a batter in a Test.
Read More: How India salvaged a draw at Old Trafford
Yashasvi Jaiswal – 118 at the Oval
After a solid century (101) in the first Test at Leeds, Yashasvi Jaiswal lost a bit of momentum throughout the Test series. In between two fifty-plus scores, the left-hander also returned with a couple of ducks and made just two runs in the first innings at the Oval. Hence, his inconsistent form was hurting India.
Just when one could write him off, the young southpaw came back to himself by striking a strokeful century in the third innings of the Oval Test match. It was the best bowling surface of the series. Jaiswal showed a lot of character as he kept his composure, despite wickets going at the other end. He brought up his sixth Test ton and was instrumental in the visiting team setting a record total of 374 runs at this venue for England to win. Eventually, his 164-ball 118 proved pivotal in India scripting a 6-run win to level the series 2-2.
Read More: KL Rahul & Yashasvi Jaiswal might have filled the opening spot jigsaw, but who are the best reserves
Mohammed Siraj (4/86 and 5/104) – The Oval
Despite all the runs Jaiswal and India scored in the second innings, England was all set to make easy work of the 374-run target set by the visitors. However, the man who stood between them and a win was India’s Mohammed Siraj. In one of the most inspirational bowling spells bowled by an Indian fast bowler, he wiped out England’s lower order on the final day of the series to script a miraculous win for the team.
Earlier in the innings, Siraj sent back two of England’s Bazball pioneers, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, to give India a stronghold in the defence. However, a costly catch missed by Siraj himself gave England’s Harry Brook a lifeline, and he, along with Joe Root, scored centuries to take the hosts within touching distance of what would have been a series win.
The other pacers chipped in to remove the dangerous duo before Siraj got his act together to claim a fifer. In the first innings as well, Siraj produced a great bowling display that skittled England’s middle-order and kept the deficit to just 23 runs.
Read More: Moments which made ATT 2025 a really close fought series
