ENG vs IND 2025: Where does Anderson Tendulkar Trophy rank among the most thrilling test series in India’s cricket history?
The recent five-match Test series of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (ATT) 2025 between England and India has generated incredible excitement among fans. For seven weeks, they were at the edge of their seats thanks to some incredible performances with the bat and ball.
The home side took a lead of 2-1 at Lord’s during the third fixture. Later, the Blue Brigade drew (2-2) the series with a drawn Manchester clash and victory at Kennington Oval.
Let’s take a look at where the ATT 2025 ranks amongst the list of most exciting Test series involving India:
5. Pataudi Trophy 2021
It was the famous series between the Blue Brigade and the Three Lions in England during the 2021 season. The visitors could have taken a 1-0 lead if rain hadn’t spoiled their chase on the fifth day at Trent Bridge.
But they eventually went up after the 151-run win at Lord’s. The contest is mostly known for Virat Kohli, the former India captain’s words of ‘For 60 overs, they should feel hell out there.’ The Joe Root-led side couldn’t sustain the pressure and got rolled over for just 120 runs in the fourth innings. The hosts made a cracking comeback at Leeds with an innings victory before India went 2-1 up at Kennington Oval.
However, the fifth match in Manchester was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They returned for the fifth rescheduled Test at Edgbaston. It was a different England side under Ben Stokes, who chased down 378 runs in the fourth innings with seven wickets in hand and drew the series 2-2.
Read More: Series-defining efforts which epitomised excellence in ATT 2025
4. Border Gavaskar Trophy 2016-17
Australia have a tendency to put India under pressure in the first Test of the series. It was the same story when they claimed a 333-run victory in Pune after bundling out Kohli’s army for 105 and 107. In Bengaluru, the home side was again under pressure before Ravichandran Ashwin displayed a fabulous bowling performance.
At Ranchi, it was a dull, boring, high-scoring drawn result. In Dharamshala for the fourth and final fixture, the management handed Kuldeep Yadav his Test debut. Both teams batted nearly the same in their respective first innings.
But the difference came when Australia could make only 137 in the third innings of the encounter. The hosts chased down the target of 106 runs by eight wickets and clinched the series by 2-1.
Read More: Moments which made ATT 2025 a really close fought series
3. Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025
The recently concluded ATT 2025 between England and India saw 25 days of action in the field. The home side were superbly confident after their successful fourth-innings chase of 373 runs at Leeds. But the Shubman Gill-led side made a terrific comeback by 336 runs of victory at Edgbaston. The third Test at Lord’s mentally drained the players and the fans as England went 2-1 up thanks to the 22-run win.
Shubman Gill and KL Rahul’s third-wicket partnership, followed by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s fifth-wicket unbeaten stand, pushed the Manchester clash to a drawn result. At Kennington Oval, when England were 301/3 in the 374-run chase, no one predicted the victory of the Blue Brigade.
But Mohammed Siraj’s five-wicket haul, including three wickets in the fifth morning, registered the win for them. The series ended in a 2-2 margin.
Read More: Why BCCI needs to expand the fast bowling contract
2. Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21
It was the four-match Test series of India down under that inspired a new generation. When Kohli returned home after their eight-wicket defeat in the Adelaide day-night clash, including getting 36/9 in the second innings, everyone prayed to avoid a 4-0 defeat. Under Ajinkya Rahane, the tourists made a cracking comeback with the eight-wicket victory during the Boxing Day MCG Test.
In Sydney, the odds were against India. But two half-injured players, Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, batted for over 40 overs to end the game in a draw.
Then came the fourth and final Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, where the home side hadn’t lost a single Test since 1989. The visitors were needed to chase 328 runs in the fourth innings. Opener Shubman Gill drilled 91 runs while Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten on 89 runs. India won their second successive away Test series in Australia by a 2-1 margin.
Read More: Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Top 5 performances by India batters over the last 10 years in Australia
1. Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2000-01
In the opening game of the series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the visitors gained a 10-wicket victory. They chased down the paltry target of 47 runs without losing any wicket in seven overs. As it generally happens, the pressure was incredible on the hosts to make a dominating comeback.
And they did at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It was arguably one of the most interesting Test matches of the century. India were asked to follow on after getting bundled out for 171 runs in reply to the tourists’ 445 runs. Then came the huge 376-run stand for the fifth wicket between Rahul Dravid (180) and VVS Laxman (281). They batted the entire fourth day while Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick earned them the 171-run win.
At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai during the third and final red-ball clash of the series, the Sourav Ganguly-led side were at a critical position. However, they chased the 155-run target by two wickets in hand and won the series 2-1.
Read More: Could Joe Root topple Sachin Tendulkar’s record in Tests?
