ENG vs IND Match Prediction 2025: Match Preview, Pitch Report and Who will win Today’s Match?

ENG vs IND Match Preview

The England cricket team outclassed the Indian men's cricket team in the first match. At a batting friendly surface at Headingley in Leeds, England batters overpowered Team India with the Bazball approach.

Team India put 471 runs in the first inning after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and asked India to bat first. England scored 465 runs in their first inning with team India taking a 6 runs lead. 

In the 2nd inning, after a wonderful centuries from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, Team India set 371 runs target for England. But England managed to take control of the game with a 188 runs partnership for the opening wicket. England ultimately chased down the target in 82 overs, winning by 5 wickets to lead the series 1-0 after five games.

The onus is now on Team India to script a comeback in the 2nd Test in Birmingham. Can Shubman Gill’s side make it 1-1? We will find out below ENG vs IND Match Prediction.

ENG vs IND Recent Form

The England cricket team’s recent form is much superior to the Indian team. While the Three Lions won the first match of the series vs England, they also beat Zimbabwe in their previous game. Prior to that, England also beat New Zealand 2-1, winning the first two games of the series and lost the 3rd Test vs the Kiwis.

As for Team India, their recent form suggests that the side is in deep trouble. In their last 5 games, not only they lost vs England, but prior to that, they lost the 5 match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 against Australia. They won the first match but then lost the next three with a draw in the 3rd Test in the next 4 matches of the series.

India vs England Team Preview

England

Ben Stokes-led England cricket team will be highly confident coming into this match after they won the first Test match in Leeds. The side will be further boosted by the fact that star pace bowler Jofra Archer has been included in the team. The Three Lions will benefit from his acquisition as their fast bowling attack is formed by players like Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, and Brydon Carse.
Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes took 4 wickets each in the 1st inning. Tongue took 3 wickets in the 2nd inning as well with Brydon Carse also bagging 3. Spin bowler Shoaib Bashir also picked 2 wickets in the second inning.
The batting department is unchanged. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will keep opening spots. Joe Root, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook will continue to strengthen the middle-order. Jamie Smith will be the wicketkeeper batter. Captain Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes will add the all-round strength with Shoaib Bashir the lone spinner in the team.
Ollie Pope scored a century in the first inning with Harry Brook missing by just 1 runs as he was dismissed after scoring 99 runs. Meanwhile, in the second inning, Ben Duckett delivered a stunning knock. The left-hand opening batter scored 149 runs in 170 balls with fifties from Zak Crawley and Joe Root.

India

Despite Team India’s loss in the first Test, the cricket fans and experts’ ENG vs IND match prediction still backs India to win. Despite the loss, Team India won't be heartbroken after a good performance from a team that is currently in the transition phase.

Team India had four different batters score a total of 5 centuries in the first Test match in Leeds. Key batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill produced a century in the first inning, followed by a century from KL Rahul in the second, while wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant hit twin hundreds.

However, the big worrying factor for Shubman Gill and Head Coach Gautam Gambhir will be the bowling department. Jasprit Bumrah was the team's best bowler with a 5-fer in the first inning. However, the bad news is that Bumrah will not feature in this match for Team India to manage his workload. Meanwhile, the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj failed to match the expectations.

Shardul Thakur, who was preferred ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy, didn't impress either with bat or ball. Meanwhile, the veteran left-arm orthodox bowler Ravindra Jadeja, the most experienced player in the side, had an off-day in the office, taking only 1 wicket and nothing to show with the bat. Karun Nair, making a comeback after 8 years, scored 0 in the first inning and 20 runs in the 2nd inning.

ENG vs IND Head to Head Records in Tests

India vs England has a long history. There have been a total of 137 Test matches between the two teams with England winning on 52 occasions. Team India meanwhile have won 35 matches with 50 games ending in no result or draw. The head-to-head plays a key role before ENG vs IND today match prediction.

Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham Pitch Report

The Edgbaston pitch in Birmingham offers assistance to the pace bowlers. There is great seam movement in the first two days of the game. Reverse-swing comes into effect as the game progresses into the 4th and 5th day. However, like the last match in Leeds, we can expect a bit more for the batters than in previous occasions at this venue.

England's pace bowling isn't really the strongest in the last few years with key bowlers like James Anderson, Stuart Broad retired. Meanwhile, the Bazball approach needs pitch that favours the batters. Thus the hosts are likely to prepare a rather batting friendly surface as Indian pacers edge the English pacers in swinging conditions.

ENG vs IND Predicted Playing11

England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

Injury News: No Injury

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep.
Injury News: Jasprit Bumrah to be rested for this match

ENG vs IND Match Prediction Key Performers

England Top Batter: Ben Duckett

England’s opening batter Ben Duckett has been in brilliant form ever since Brendon McCullum has joined the England team as head coach. In England, Duckett has been the main focus of the Bazball strategy. In the previous match itself, the left-hand batter played a match winning knock of 149 runs in 170 balls. He also scored 62 runs in the 1st innings.

India Top Batter: Yashasvi Jaiswal

Meanwhile, India’s opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is going to be a key player for Team India. Jaiswal has emerged as one of the next big thing for Indian cricket. He got off to a good start in the series as he scored a century in the first inning of the 1st Test match in Leeds. The Mumbai batter scored 101 runs off 158 balls but was unlucky in the 2nd inning, giving away his wicket to Brydon Carse cheaply.

England Top Bowler: Jofra Archer

The inclusion of right-arm pace bowler Jofra Archer adds the much needed strength in the England bowling attack. Jofra's fitness has been a problem for him lately. This will be his comeback to red ball cricket for England for the first time since 2001. His last Test series was against Team India itself. His raw pace and extra bounce will make him a player to watch out for England in this match.

India Top Bowler: Arshdeep Singh

Without Jasprit Bumrah, the team faces a substantial challenge in filling the gap he leaves behind. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is most likely to replace Bumrah in the team. This will be his debut Test match for Team India. But his prior experience of playing in the County Championship will play a major role for the left-arm pacer. He played for the Kent County Club in 2023 and took 13 wickets. Being a swing bowler, his effectiveness is expected to be enhanced when playing in English conditions.. So watch out for the 26-year-old.

India vs England Key Players Battle

Ben Duckett vs Akash Deep

Joe Root vs Ravindra Jadeja

KL Rahul vs Brydon Carse

Shubman Gill vs Jofra Archer

ENG vs IND Today Match Prediction

The India vs England prediction suggests it will be another match where both the teams’ batters are likely to dominate. The outcome of the match could also be decided by which team outclasses the opposition with the bat. Both India and England have a formidable batting line-up. However, both sides' bowling line-up isn't world-class and is going through a transition phase. However, the return of Jofra Archer is huge for the hosts. Meanwhile, Team India have a major blow as Jasprit Bumrah is mostly unlikely to play this match. There is a likelihood that Arshdeep Singh is set to make his debut with Akash Deep likely to replace Prasidh Krishna. The chop and changes are likely to affect team India.

Meanwhile, the England team has a much settled batting line-up but there is question over the selection of Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur in the Indian camp. Rain is also likely to affect the outcome of the match. However, pre-match, the host England team looks in a comfortable position pick-up another win. They have a solid batting with the Bazball approach while Jofra Archer is a significant addition to the bowling department.