India is in a strong position due to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill's 100 on the first day

@Yashasvi Jaiswal's celebration after scoring a century vs England2025

 

summary of the fantastic Day 1 of the First Test between India and England at Headingley on 20 June 2025 which ended at 359/3 (or ~357/3 as later updates) They also took full control on the England bowling and this established a dominant start on the series.

Game Developments and Star Players

1. Toss, Conditions and Early Movements:

• The England captain, Ben Stokes, won the toss and decided to bowl first in the hope to take advantage of early swing due to warm and humid conditions at Headingley

• Rather it was the depth of the Indian batting that was put to use and also against the pacers, it was Woakes, Carse, Tongue that had failed to deliver much after the early wickets

2. The first day: Consistent Bases:

• KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal enjoyed a solid partnership of around 91 runs, before being dismissed by a late movement delivery of Brydon Carse, and smacked 42 runs by Rahul as well. 

• A few minutes before lunch, debutant Sai Sudharsan was given a small cameo innings to be dismissed by Ben Stokes as a duck
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 3. Jaiswal Composed Century

• Surprisingly Yashasvi Jaiswal took the initiative into his own hands despite the muscle pains and played painfully towards getting his calm 101 off 144 balls, (16 fours, and a six) 

• with only his third century on foreign soil and fifth overall in Test cricket England bowlers were frustrated by his mature batting, where he kept their bowlers stagnant at one time or the other to form the stand.

4.Gill-the-Commanding Captain known as Knock

• As a captain of one of the tours after retirement of Kohli and Rohit, Shubman Gill retaliated amazingly, with much responsibility and poise in his innings.

• He put up a nice 126 (or nearly 127)* his first-century as a Test captain and a memorable record score as an Indian captain in his first match in charge

• His strike also had a fluent fifty, 50 in 319 balls, with well-picked drives and cut shots.

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5. Brisk Support, by Pant

• After Jaiswal was dismissed, Rishabh Pant came in and provided quick fire runs, ending up at a blistering 57 (or 63)**, seconding a near undisturbed 129-run partnership with Gill

6. Remarkable Instances and Sanctions

• An instance of temper with England also happened when a mis-timed Stokes delivery, sharply bounced off the discarded England helmet of Joe Root on the ground--England suffered 5 penalty runs through Law 28

• India: players tied black armbands and observed a moment of silence in the memory of the victims of the plane crash that happened in Ahmedabad recently

Session-Wise Summary

Session        Score Progress         Highlights:

Morning           0 92/2                       Rahul and Jaiswal settled, Rahul out,                                                                                                   Sudharsan duck

Afternoon        92/2 215/2 (by tea)    Centuries by Jaiswal and half centuries by                                                                                           Gill, 123-run partnership Evening      215/2 to 359/3 (end of day)   Gill century, Pant enterprising knock, 129-                                                                                           run unbroken stand Analysis and implications 

• Ineffective bowling by England: The bowlers were not able to maintain the discipline in the line of bowling except the two early wickets of Stokes and Carse, The bowlers seemed to have been all over the park-Woakes, Tongue, Bashir, and others- lost their sense of bowling discipline

• Batting-favourable pitch: Unlike in the previous games, the Headingley pitch provided no aid to bowlers, with a flat deck and reduced seam movement of the ball as the Indian batsmen controlled the game.

• Indian batting depth: Gill, Jaiswal, Pant- Good performances of the top four batsmen indicate depth in Indian batting; even when one fails, the other can take up the responsibility

• Captaincy bounce: A calm start in the debut as a captain gives Gill a captaincy bounce, increasing both team spirits and personal confidence as he becomes the fourth Indian to achieve this feat

• England test ahead: At the end of the first day, England is almost on 360, which means that on Day 2, they will need to get an early wicket to take back the game with the help of aggressive fielding and attitude to the pitch.

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Day 2 What to Watch

• Gill & Pant are back in business again-will this translate into a colossal first-innings advantage?

• Can England make an early breakthrough by exploiting the new ball movement in the morning?

• Will pitch begin to crumble or will it be a smooth batting deck?

• The time of declaration by India and the intention of the subcontinent side to push hard towards winning.

In a nutshell, Day 1 of the Test has been a resounding one by India (359/3) at Headingley and thus, they have taken the initiative here. The composed ton by Jaiswal, the captaining knock by Gill, the explosive cameo by Pant and the listless bowling by England has created an interesting challenge. As the series heads into Day 2, it is time now on the English bowling department to come to the rescue and change the script.

Match summary:

Day1 India: 359/3 Yashasvi Jaiswal 101 off 159 (16 Fours & 1 Six), Shubman Gill 127* off 175 Balls (16 Fours & 1 Six) , Rishabh Pant 65* off 102 Balls (6 Fours &  Sixes)

England Bowling: Ben Stokes 2/43, Brydon Carse 1/70.