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| @Sai Sudharsan playing a shot during his half-century innings vs England at Manchester 2025 |
Match Situation & Toss:
- Series & Trophy: The Test is one of the series played in the first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (replacing the Pataudi Trophy) between the two countries played over five Tests
- Venue and toss: At Old Trafford Manchester, England won the toss and wanted to bat first in a pitch with pace and bounce with cloudy skies.
- The Indian top order, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were tentative, with the pacers Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse moving the ball.
- By lunch Jaiswal had scored 58 with a towering six in between. Rahul also exercised restraint and achieved his 1,000 Test runs in England where he ended with 46
- Their partnership of 94 left India with 94/0 at Lunch giving them a good base to work on.
- Jaiswal (58 off some 150 balls) was cautious yet calculated in his aggression, fending off threats against short balls by Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes
- Rahul stood firm at the crease and the rare swing of England was never able to wipe out the solid opening duo.
- Wicket Breakthroughs
- Yashasvi Jaiswal fell at fine-leg trying a pull-shot-bowled by Stokes-58, ending the alliance
- Soon after, KL Rahul (46) edged a ball of Chris Woakes and was caught- brought to a stop the 94-run partnership
- Shubman Gill was caught LBW by Stokes in the 30th over and India lost the third wicket on 140 runs
- India Stage Counter:
- Sai Sudharsan, in his first test match, gave stability with a calm 61. He was fortunate to miss an early squandered opportunity but settled into the pitch quite easily
- Rishabh Pant came in and was injured soon in a reverse sweep against Chris Woakes. He was hit on the foot, and went off at 212/3, and an ambulance was necessary
- England's Ponty: Ben Stokes was the best of the bowlers ending up with 2/47 and Woakes and Dawson wiry started to check the flow.
🌒 Late Afternoon / Early Evening: India Regroup
- Pant had to be forced out, and Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur came in to handle the innings.
- The pair cultivated the strike quite magnificently with Jadeja hitting at least one boundary when mid-on was up and Thakur calmly resisting
- They were subjected to mild challenges but they saw off no more wickets in failing light.
- India was 264/4 by stumps with Jadeja (19*) and Thakur (19*) steering the ship
- Bad light stopped play a few minutes before 6 pm BST
- The most concerning event of the day was the departure of Rishabh Pant. As he turned around one of Woakes yorkers, he hit the ball with his right foot that started bleeding and swelling
- He went off injured and in an ambulance--his injury casts some doubts on whether he will be able to compete in Day 2.
- The pitch was the same: good pace, bounce, and movement of the seam.
- The English bowlers exploited these conditions as much as they could but India played the conditions to their strengths in most of the day.
Metric England Bowlers India Batters
Opening stand ---- Jaiswal + Rahul - 94 runs
Wickets Lost - 4 ---- (Jaiswal, Rahul, Gill, Pant retired)
Key Indian contributions ---- Sudharsan 61, Jadeja 19*, Thakur 19*
Stokes figures 2/47 -----
Team score at Closed 264/4 in 83 overs
Concern raised Pant's Injury
What to Expect on Day 2
- Pant's Fitness: His Condition is pivotal. In case of not fit, India can replace the keeper with a reserve one though it will bat one short.
- Jadeja and Thakur: Both are in position to carry on and would like to go beyond 300.
- England's Strategy: Will they continue using seam bowlers in early conditions or will they change to spin?
- Momentum Shift: A single big session tomorrow will turn the game; India will be looking to take the initiative and England to take revenge.
Final Summary:
India were in firm position of 264/4 at the end of Day 1, courtesy of a self-disciplined top-order to middle-order approach. The initial fall of Gill and Rahul was compensated through Sudharsan maiden half century and the consistent lower-order defense. Nevertheless, the injury to Pant is a cause of concern in terms of depth of India. England bowled well and in particular Stokes, Woakes, and Dawson but failed to take full advantage. A stage is now set and there are a lot of exciting battles to come tomorrow either India widens their lead or England strikes early to take back the momentum.
Brief scores: India 264/4 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, KL Rahul 46; Ben Stokes 2-47, Chris Woakes 1-43, Liam Dawson 1-45) vs England.