The recent form of England has been better than India in test matches. England have won three test matches out of their last five. They also won the last match against Zimbabwe by an innings and 45 runs. Shoaib Bashir bowled out a brilliant spell of 3/62 & 6/81. Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope batted extremely well which allowed England to give a follow on to Zimbabwe.
India lost their five match test series against Australia by 3-1 and are looking for a bold performance in England. The Indian team will play without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who retired from the longer format with immediate effect. This will not be an easy series for India under new captain Shubman Gill. India lost to Australia in their last match by 6 wickets. Scott Boland took 10 wickets in that test match. Rishabh Pant did his best to save his team but remained as the lone warrior.
Headingley, Leeds will host the inaugural match of England's summer cricketing season for the first time. Leeds has always been used as the mid-series venue for any test series in England however this time it will host the first match as maintaining the surface in the summer of Leeds is very hard for the curators. This pitch is made by keeping in mind the needs of the England cricket team. The pitch will be a batting friendly surface supporting England’s “Bazball” style of play. The pitch will have a 8mm grass as reported by ESPNCricinfo to prevent the pitch from getting worse and crack to open up during hot afternoons of Leeds. It has not rained in Leeds since February which has made it hard to maintain the surface as-is-it. The chasing team will have a slight advantage however if you can score huge scores in the first innings then it will be very hard for the team batting second to win the match.
England and India have played a total of 136 tests against each other, holding a strong rivalry. IND vs ENG head to head stats show England with no doubts in mind are the more dominant force between the two, winning 51 matches. India also played well but could only win 35 matches. Remaining 50 tests ended in draws. This is an important match for both the teams as this match will give confidence moving further in the series.
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Injury Update: None
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna.
Injury Updates: None
Pope has played 186 balls against Bumrah so far and scored only 86 runs. During this time he has been out 5 times. He has played 140 dot balls and hit only 11 fours. The strike rate is only 46.2 and the average is 17.2. In 2022 and 2024, Bumrah gave tremendous trouble to Pope, got him out 3 times and did not let many runs be scored.
Stokes has played 235 balls against Jadeja and scored 125 runs. He has been out 6 times. He has played 174 dot balls, hit 15 fours and 3 sixes. Strike rate is 53.2 and average is 20.8. He performed slightly better in 2024, but overall Jadeja has controlled Stokes a lot.
Yashasvi scored 185 runs in 196 balls against Bashir in 2024, but was also out 2 times. He hit 21 fours and 7 fours. He played only 114 dot balls, strike rate was 94.4 and average was 92.5. This battle was quite exciting and Jaiswal dominated Bashir well.
Joe Root has shown good form in the ODI series against West Indies. He played an unbeatable knock of 166* and then also bowled stable innings like 57 and 44. Test cricket is his real home, and when a batsman is so confident in white-ball cricket, his effect is visible in red-ball cricket as well. Root’s experience on grounds like Leeds’ and his recent touch will both come in handy for England.
Duckett has shown his aggressive batting style in the past few T20 and ODI matches. Useful knocks like 84 and 58 reflect his positive mindset. His fearless nature can be an advantage in the Test format as well, especially if England wants a fast-scoring start. He is a player who can adjust himself according to the conditions.
Shubman Gill has played innings like 93* and 43 in IPL, which highlights his timing and shot selection. Yes, runs were less in the last 2 matches, but his overall form is steady. Gill's temperament and technique both fit for Test matches, and if the pitch settles down, it can lead to a long innings.
Bumrah has shown discipline and wicket-taking ability in T20 as well. His spells of 3/12 against DC and 2/19 against GT were quite sharp. His natural length and pace become even more deadly in Test cricket, especially in swinging conditions. If there is even a little help on the pitch, Bumrah can change the flow of the match.
Sai Sudharsan has shown class in some IPL matches, especially in the innings of 108* and 80 runs. He calmly scores runs under pressure, which is very useful in the red-ball format. If he gets a chance in a Test match, both his patience and form can become a challenge for South Africa.
Jamie Smith has batted well in limited-overs matches, like the innings of 64 and 60 runs. He is a smart batsman who can score quick runs as well as stay at the crease. His shot selection and recent confidence is very high and he can also be very important behind the wicket for his catches.
Shoaib Bashir is no doubt a brilliant spinner who can turn the game in his spell but on a batting friendly wicket like Leeds, his spin bowling will not get much assist and he can be performing underwhelmingly. You can avoid him in your dream11 team for the first match.
Shardul Thakur has been a good player in the last one year, showing his experience in both balling and batting but his bowling will be tested to the next level against a baseball playing nation who try to hit every bad ball in an over. Shardul keeps his line and length tight occasionally but most of the time his line and length remains disturbed which can assist the England batters.
Keeper: Rishabh Pant, Jamie Smith
Batters: Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill
All-rounders: Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Chirs Woakes, Jasprit Bumrah
Keeper: Rishabh Pant, Jamie Smith
Batters: Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Zak Crawley
All-rounders: Ben Stokes
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah
More Links