England’s fortress finally cracked. India won by 336 runs at Edgbaston to square the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at 1-1, ending decades without a win at the venue and doing it with complete control. The scale of it was striking: 587 in the first dig, a declaration at 427/6 in the second, and England twice pushed back by Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. Rain on the final day only delayed the inevitable.
Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl, chasing overheads and swing. On a true pitch that eased after the first hour, the call aged badly. India piled on 587, powered by Shubman Gill’s 269 — the highest score by an Indian Test captain, passing Virat Kohli’s 254* from 2019. Gill was patient early, then ruthless square and straight, forcing England’s quicks to shorten their lengths and dulling the new ball.
India’s middle order added layers. Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with two composed half-centuries across the match, Rishabh Pant’s counterpunching fifty shifted the tempo, and the lower order turned ones into hard twos to sap England’s legs. By stumps on day two, the game had tilted one way.
England’s reply of 407 owed almost everything to Jamie Smith’s unbeaten 184 — the highest by an English Test wicket-keeper, overtaking Alec Stewart’s 173. Smith refused to chase width, punished anything short, and farmed the strike with calm authority. Around him, Siraj was relentless: 6 for 70 through a spell built on hard lengths and late movement that ripped out the middle order.
With a lead of 180, India batted with intent in the second innings and declared at 427/6. Gill added 161, turning a good match into an all-time great one. He left well outside off, cashed in when England went too full, and kept the scoring rate just high enough to protect time. The target of 608 was never about a chase; it was a scoreboard squeeze.
England folded for 271. Akash Deep took 6 for 99, completing his maiden five-for and a 10-wicket match haul, the kind of breakout performance that changes a career. Jadeja’s control dried up runs at one end while Siraj kept asking questions at the other. Even a short burst of showers on the final day couldn’t open a door England had already shut on themselves with soft dismissals and misreads of length.
How the match unfolded
Day one set the tone. India absorbed the new-ball nip, then cashed in once the lacquer wore off. Gill’s tempo control was the key — a low-risk start, then an expansion of scoring areas without forcing the game. England’s fields grew more defensive, and the seamers were dragged into repeat overs in search of magic balls that never arrived.
On day two, the visitors stretched the innings beyond England’s comfort zone. Every extra 30–40 runs felt like an arm wrestle won. When England batted, Siraj’s first burst after lunch flipped momentum. He attacked the top of off, got just enough seam to take the edge, and put India into the lead narrative. Smith countered with clean, orthodox Test batting, but lacked a long partner.
Day three and four were about control. India didn’t meander; they moved the game forward. Gill’s second-innings hundred kept the rate brisk without risk, Jadeja swept and rotated, and Pant’s bursts forced England to reshuffle fields. The declaration removed doubt: 608 was a statement, not a question.
On day five, with clouds around and a heavy outfield, Akash Deep hit the deck hard and straight. He bowled stump-to-stump, made England play, and found just enough uneven bounce to keep batters in two minds. India’s catching held, the plans were clear, and the clock was their friend.
Records, tactics, and what it means
This was a win stacked with milestones and smart choices. Gill’s 430 runs across the match are the second-highest aggregate by any batter in a Test, behind Graham Gooch’s 456 at Lord’s in 1990. His 269 set a new benchmark for Indian Test captains. For England, Jamie Smith’s 184* reset the wicket-keeper record books and showed he can anchor long innings even when the ball is doing a bit.
- Second-highest match aggregate by a batter (Gill 430), behind Gooch’s 456.
- Highest Test score by an Indian captain (Gill 269), surpassing Kohli’s 254* in 2019.
- Highest Test score by an England wicket-keeper (Smith 184*), passing Alec Stewart’s 173.
- Akash Deep: maiden five-for and first 10-wicket match haul in Tests.
- Ravindra Jadeja: first player to 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in World Test Championship history.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal crossed 2,000 Test runs.
- India’s fourth-largest win by runs and their biggest by runs away from home.
- First time an Asian team has won a Test at Edgbaston.
The captaincy call that shaped the match came at 10:30 a.m. on day one. Stokes backed the clouds; Gill backed time. India’s batters respected the new ball, then forced England to bowl to defensive fields, which allowed low-risk accumulation. The ball lost bite, the pitch stayed honest, and India romped past par.
With the ball, India didn’t chase magic. Siraj hammered a nagging length, making batters play at the fourth-stump channel. Akash Deep complemented him by attacking the stumps and using the short ball as a surprise, not a habit. Jadeja’s economy gave Gill control over the clock and let the quicks attack in short, sharp bursts.
Tactically, India also managed the passage between sessions well. They scored quickly before breaks to unsettle England’s plans and used fresh-balls right after intervals to hunt wickets. Fielding was sharp, with minimal drops, which matters in a big-margin win more than it appears on a scorecard.
From a World Test Championship lens, India banked 12 points; England got none. That matters. After slipping in the first Test, India’s percentage climbs, and the series is back on level ground. Momentum has a way of exaggerating small gaps, and right now, India’s discipline in the long format looks like the difference.
What’s next? England must rethink the tendency to bowl first on good pitches just because the sky looks grey. They also need more from their top order to avoid leaving the middle and lower-middle to rebuild every time. For India, the template is clear: bat long, squeeze with relentless seam, and let Jadeja shut the door. As far as statements go, this Edgbaston Test felt like one.
