A Retrospective Look on the India-England 2025 Series by Ranga Sampath
For those not closely watching the India in England 2025 series, or for those who will look at the score cards a few years down the road, that may be the question asked. And they would have missed the point. Tournaments are great, there is a single focused event where the entire cricketing world is paying attention, and the format (one-day or T-20) gives a single shot to the teams in a rapid format. Test cricket is an entirely different sport. The contest between the bat and the ball takes on a very different tone. Defense and prolonged concentration become more critical than the strike rates and boundaries. Bowlers have to bowl long spells with the same intensity and can go rewardless for a whole day or at best get 2-3 wickets. Size, shine and shape of the balls often determine the outcome, as do the conditions of the pitch and the weather! Why do they still play this format in the 21st century when we have so many other high-intensity and instant gratification formats that are also monetarily more rewarding?
To understand that, one should have watched the recent series. England is a great place to watch test matches – most stadiums are relatively small (Leeds at 18K capacity is the smallest while Lord’s with 31K is the largest out of the 5 test venues this year). Gives one a very personal and intimate feeling of being part of the game unfolding. And the stadiums were packed to the core. All tests were sold out months in advance for the first 4 days and most places also sold out their 5th day as the series progressed. The crowd is knowledgeable and sportive, the noise and the banter is friendly unlike during football matches. As an Indian at Leeds on Days 1 and 2, Maya and I soaked in the atmosphere to the extent we didn’t want to leave. Wish we had more time (and money) for all 25 days.
India showed up big time. No other country, including Australia or even England, losing their 3 aces to retirement leading up to the series (Ashwin, Kohli and Rohit) and the 4th (Bumrah) declared fit enough to only play 3 of the 5 matches right at the outset, could have claimed so much talent from their bench. As visitors, they didn’t have the infinite luxury of replacements, so had to contend with the 16 they had chosen. A new 25y old captain appointed for the series, one who had shown flashes of brilliance but was criticized by the relentless Indian media and fans for his failures to convert his starts overseas. Heck, he was dropped (“unfortunately had to be left out” was the official statement) as recently as Dec 2024 in the Boxing Day match against the Aussies. Was he going to be the scapegoat for India’s failures in the UK? An opening batsman in KL Rahul known for good starts in a long series, only to fade away. Another opener who is 23 and already a thorn in the English side but had played them only in India. Opening in England takes a special skill. The biggest concern, who will bat at number 3. Gill himself could have but as a captain he needed to anchor from number 4. Sai Sudarshan has ample talent, he is NOT just an IPL sensation. Has had a terrific domestic start to his career but once again, England is a tough proving ground. Not easy for someone inexperienced to step up. Number 5 also remains a challenge with Shreyas perhaps still not available for disciplinary reasons, but a lot was expected of Karun Nair making a test comeback at 34 on the tails of a solid 2-year domestic stint. Headache in England is you need someone who can bat and bowl in the middle order. Perhaps not as well as Stokes does for England, but someone dependable. Nitish Reddy could be that person after his Australia tour with the bat but hardly a bowler who will strike fear. Shardul is not and should not be that person. India didn’t have a choice though. Pant as a keeper is about as good an option in any team. Fearless and adventurous, made in the same mold as his Bazball or Baggy Green opponents, his presence is worth its weight in gold. Bowling was the one place India seemed to have some experience with Jaddu, Bumrah and Siraj. The 3rd and 4th seamer options aren’t bad but none of them can bat. This makes for a long tail against England that boasts of depth in batting up till their #10 player. Thus, they were up against an experienced English batting line up. Their bowling was in some sort of a crisis with Mark Wood and Joffra Archer still not 100%. So, on paper, India had a potential to put up some sort of a fight in 3 of the 5 matches where Big B would play, the remaining 2 would be up to luck!
All it took was Day 1 at Leeds to flex some muscles and change this narrative. With Jaiswal and Gill centuries after being put into bat, the visitors struck fear right away in the English Lions. Pant added drama to this by some vicious counterattacks even against the new ball and everything was going India’s way. Indians didn’t come here to be rolled over, it seemed. Most pundits were questioning Stokes’ decision to field after winning the toss and the battle was on. I met an old colleague at the train station on Day 1 evening, and he was so worked up about Stokes and the bowlers. Two critical things happened here that would repeat itself at The Oval in the last match. India went from 3/430 to 471 all out in the 1st innings. 41 runs in 13 overs for the loss of 7 wickets. Second innings this pattern repeated. 3-287 became 364 all out in about 25 overs. They let the opponents in when they should have shut them out and paid a heavy price by losing the match.
Edgbaston, the Bastion against marauding Indians in the past, was breached, and how! Gill led the way with a dominating double century in the first innings with another 150+ score in the second, Siraj bowled magnificently in the absence of Bumrah, a pattern that has been well noticed and will be important later in the series again, seven English batsmen scored ducks in the match and Akash Deep justified his selection with a 6-fer in the second innings to destroy the hosts by 330+ margin. The only silver lining for the English was the 300 run Brook-Smith partnership that saved them first innings blushes. Washington’s dismissal of Stokes, on the other hand, cemented his place in the side as a useful allrounder!
Lord’s, the Mecca of cricket, the hallowed halls and the long rooms leading up to the pavilion, is worth a visit to even when no cricket is being played. Every cricketer dreams of having their names etched in glory at this ground. England predictably won the toss (they’d win every toss this series) but unpredictably for a team priding itself in chasing, chose to bat. Rootey continued etching his name in the record books, Bumrah was back with a 5-fer glory, KL Rahul scored a magnificent and patient hundred but the quest for this perhaps led to India’s downfall. Pant was needlessly run out pushing for the run and eventually led to a rare first inning tie. Both teams had shared glory. It all came down to 2nd innings. Washi put his hand up on a seaming wicket and took 4-21 to get Indian hopes for a win at Lord’s only for the batsmen for the first time fail to deliver a solid start. They kept losing wickets and despite a gallant unbeaten 61 from Jaddu, India agonizingly lost the match 23runs short. Cruelty of the bounce, as an innocuous perfect defensive dab by Siraj into the ground spun back and bounced slowly to hit the stumps, leaving the lionhearted Siraj speechless, emotional and devastated.
England 2-1 against all odds looked to wrap the series up in Manchester. India nearly obliged and were buckling under the enormity of the situation. First innings saw a number of batsmen getting their starts only to fall tamely. Sai Sudarshan finally justified his selection with a watchful 61 and top scored as India scrambled to a modest score. This, however, was exactly what the English were waiting for. Only Harry Brook missed out as the top 6 English batsmen plundered 650+ against a wilting attack. All 6 Indian blowers would have conceded 100+ runs if they had bowled 20+ overs. Even Bumrah looked ordinary. The wicket was that flat and ready for the Bazball bully tactics. India, trailing by over 300, promptly lost their first 2 wickets on Day 4 for no runs on the board. Most Indians stopped watching the game and if there was one match where India seemed like they were being outplayed, it was this 4th test! But the proverbial fat lady hadn’t sung yet, A brilliant rearguard action by Rahul and Gill saw India end day 4 with some hopes. 5th morning was ominous as both overnight batsmen were dismissed after 180+ partnership. Again, a defeat loomed but no one told Washi and Jaddu about it. The 2 southpaws made the wicket look like feather bed and played together for the next 60 overs and stayed unbeaten with a 203 run partnership and individual hundreds that were well deserved, despite the churlish behavior by the English. I have written about this previously. There are moments that one can say defines a team. 5th day at Old Trafford was one such moment. India BELIEVED. They believed no score and no opposition would write them off. Defied all odds and finished the game with a draw that felt “as good as a win”! A phrase that really came true at The Oval. Manchester was a turning point in the psyche.
Essays can be written about the 5th and final test at The Oval. I’d say someone should write a poetry! Or two. It was that dramatic. It was Epic! No Bumrah, No Pant, No Archer, No Stokes! Both teams were tired. Woakes and Siraj had played in all 4 matches leading up to this game were tired. Rest of the team was also worn out. 20 days of intense cricket can do that to you But a few more days had to be played. Seaming conditions meant India, which lost its 5th toss in a row, once again batted first and were dismissed for a below par total. Karun Nair played a lone hand in guiding India to a modest 224. When England started, the 2nd day conditions had improved considerably and Bazball tactics were full on! England raced to their hundred in 13 overs and looked to repeat Manchester. Again every Indian bowler was conceding nearly 5 runs and over. Lunch was taken. I still want to know what was fed to the Indian team. Siraj, who had gone for nearly 6 runs an over in his first spell, suddenly was unplayable. Krishna too had found his rhythm. Test cricket, as I said, is not about run rates, requires some patience. The English didn’t have any. Keeping up the offensive meant they too were bundled out with only a 23-run lead. The same margin India lost at Lord’s. 4 wickets each for the fighting Siraj and the plucky Krishna. India batted more sensibly in the second innings. Jaiswal’s hundred, book-ending this series with centuries in the first and last innings of the tour, Akash Deep’s cameo 60+ as a night watchman, got India some hope. Jaddu was finally, and for the first time in 5 matches, dismissed in the second innings but made a valuable 53 but the icing on the cake was the lanky Washi, wielding his long handles for a T-20 like knock of 53 to take the lead to 373. No score is safe against England in the 4th innings. What will the Indian bowlers do? Day 3 was meandering into the long shadows at The Oval and everyone was looking forward to a 4th day. Scales still in India’s favor but only slightly, keeping in mind the grand chase England had put together to win at Leeds. Crawley and Duckett were cruising along but cautiously when out of nowhere Siraj produced a beautiful swinging yorker to buckle Crawley over and knock off his stumps! Game On! 50 of the required 374 were scored but one wicket down. End of Day 3!
Day 4 epitomized the series. Sometimes going India’s way when they made inroads into the English batting line up with 2 wickets in the morning session, a muff that went for a six that Siraj would never forget when Brook was on 19, a rookie error that cost another 100 runs and a glorious partnership with Root, who was his sublime self, notching up another ton, and the game between lunch tea was most definitely England’s to lose. Everyone had given up hope, symbolized by Akash Deep’s lazy unsuccessful attempt to stop a ball at the boundary with his foot! But this series was never going to end tamely. Brook, like Pant, is not restrained by the situation. He continued attacking after tea and just when the game seemed totally lost, he lost his bat to a hoick and a heave! Ball flew to Siraj for poetic justice and India finally had a small breakthrough. Bethell had a horrific outing and despite Root going strong at the other end, Indian bowlers suddenly woke up. The ball was moving around and both Bethell and Root suddenly couldn’t handle the pressure. And just like that the game was buzzing. Then the rain came down and it seemed they had escaped the day. 34 runs stood between them and victory, while India needed 4 wickets, including Chris Woakes who was injured and had his left hand in a sling.
5th morning lasted 56 minutes, but I can still feel every second of it as though I was at the stadium, in the thick of things. It was 3 AM in California but I wish I were in London. The smack by Overton to dismiss a wayward short ball from Krishna followed by an inside edge that went for 4 meant 8 of the target runs were knocked off in 2 balls. Things seemed like they would finish in a hurry. But this was the noose that would hang over the English neck rest of this summer, the trap they fell into. Jamie Smith flashed at 2 consecutive deliveries from Siraj who was totally on fire from the first ball, only to perish on the 3rd attempt. He was in a hurry and was going for the glory shot when a calmer mind would have recognized the formidable opponent wasn’t going to yield. Done and dusted. I have heard the phrase bowling with the tails up when radio commentary was the only means to enjoy the proceedings. I now know what they meant. Krishna too was going for the same off stump line and while he was less effective than Siraj, the two choked up the runs once again and the pressure was back on. Overton was claimed by Siraj in the next over on review and Tongue by Krishna a few overs later. Atkinson was now in the company of a single handed Woakes who was in immense pain, but, like Pant, wasn’t going to give up without a fight. The scores were getting perilously close. The botch by Akash Deep at long on, palming the catch for a 6 was a dagger earlier and now with only 6 runs to go, Siraj charged up to bowl the last delivery. Every Indian who watched the game live, at the stadium or on TV, can tell you the exhilaration when Siraj produced the same beauty that had got Crawley 2 days ago at the end of Day 3. A yorker that went under the bat and uprooted the off stump, stunning the English crowd and the batsman. One swing for a 6 would have tied the game and England would have won the series. It was that close. But it was not to be. Like India at Leeds, England’s score card read 3-175 collapsing to 247 all out in the first innings and 3-301, all out for 367 in the second. 66 runs for 8 last wickets at home is not how you win matches. The tables had turned and India cashed in.
Siraj knows the feeling of being that close yet not win. Happened to him across town just 2 weeks back. He also knew he would be vilified for the drop that went for a 6 and hundred more by Brook. All those demons were vanquished by the belief he had. I have watched many great spells of bowling but none with the sustained intensity he showed that morning. Not one bad ball – infact, after the poor ball by Krishna to start the game, neither bowled a loose or bad ball. Remarkable restraint under pressure. England lost the mental game and the Oval match.
Last time we went to England, we ended up with a 2-2 score. Not the same, Scoreboards don’t do justice. What was remarkable to me about this series was the resilience of this young team with a young captain and a coach who has lost more matches already than the previous ones did after one year or more. Every time the chips were down we found a new hero. It is not to say Kohli, Rohit or Ash held us back from winning, but when they got out or didn’t take wickets, both the fans and players knew we had very little chance of succeeding, This time around, there was no big name. No seasoned veteran other than Ravindra Jadeja who ended up with his best batting series outside India. Everyone knew someone had to step up. 5 centuries in the first test, Akash Deep’s 6-fer at Edgbaston to make sure Gills double century and century didn’t go wasted, Jaddu’s near heist at the Lord’s, Rahul, Gill, Washi and Jaddu and the Great Escape at Manchester, and Siraj’s 9 wickets at The Oval, all speak to cricket being a true team sport. England will do well to remember this for the Ashes. Currently they are a Stokes we win, else we lose team. If the young Indians could give them a run for their money at home, Aussies will be chomping at the bit to have a go at them.
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