In pursuit of 371 runs target, England got just the start they were looking for. The opening duo Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley added 188 for the opening wicket before Crawley was dismissed after scoring 65. But his opening partner took the game away with every single run he was scoring.
He eventually played a brilliant knock of 149 runs off 170, combined with the important innings from Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith helped England win by 5 wickets and take 1-0 in the series.
Prior to the series vs India, England won a 3 match series 2-1 vs the Kiwis. England continued their good form with a win in the only Test match vs Zimbabwe just a couple of days before the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 opener vs India. In a competitive match against the visitors, England bagged another win to extend their good form and take a 1-0 lead in the 5 match series vs India.
As for the Indian team, they have done a major restructuring before the series with both veteran Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli now retired from the format after a horrible Border-Gavaskar Trophy series vs Australia, which they lost 3-1. Under Shubman Gill’s leadership, team India have done none better as they lost their opening match of the series. There are still 4 games left to improve their recent form.
As are all other venues in England, the Edgbaston Ground in Birmingham offers assistance to the pace bowlers. There is huge support for the pacers early in the inning, especially with the new ball. However, as the game progresses, there is more help for the batters likely in the next 3 days. However, England is paying a lot more dividends to its batting department. So there is a chance of a more batting friendly surface at Edgbaston, just like in Headingley in the previous game. In contrast to the conventional pacer-friendly wicket, it was a batting-heavy surface.
England cricket team have further extended their lead in the ENG vs IND head to head stats with their win in their last match. There have been a total of 137 Test matches played between the two teams and England have won 52 times. Team India on the other hand have won 35 times with a further 50 games ending in a draw.
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
England batter Ben Duckett is off to a flying start in the Test series vs India. In the first match, Duckett scored fifty plus in both the innings, including a match-winning century in the 2nd inning. Opening the inning, Duckett scored 62 runs off 94 balls in the 1st innings. However, his most important contribution in the match came in the 2nd inning, as he scored 149 runs off 170 balls to help England win the 1st Test. He can be a great option for captain or vice-captain.
England captain Ben Stokes delivered an all-round performance in the match, living-up to his all-rounder role. With the bat, Stokes scored 20 runs in the 1st innings and 33 runs in the 2nd inning. He also picked 4 wickets in the 1st innings followed by a single wicket in the 2nd inning.
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is undoubtedly India’s best batter in Test cricket now. He proved himself once again in the previous game as he scored a century in both the innings. Pant scored 134 in the first inning and 118 runs in the 2nd inning. He is also a great wicketkeeper, so he can give extra points with his wicketkeeping. Another player who is a great option for captain or vice-captain.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is the new star in the making for the Indian cricket team. He once proved why he is touted as the next big thing as he scored a century in the 1st innings of the match as he scored 101 runs. However, he was unlucky in the 2nd inning. But Jaiswal is one of the most important player in the Indian team.
Jamie Smith: England's wicketkeeper batter Jamie Smith would be a good budget pick. Although he bats lower down the order, but, in case of collapse or as a night watchman, Smith can be a great pick. Smith scored 40 and 44 unbeaten in the first Test.
Sai Sudharsan: Although he had a disappointing debut match, but, Sai Sudharsan is an immensely talented player. He has scored 1987 runs in 30 first-class matches, averaging 39.0.
Arshdeep Singh: With Jasprit Bumrah unavailable, Arshdeep Singh is most likely to make his debut. He is a left-arm swing bowler. The conditions in England would suit him dearly. He will be a risky but great pick. However, do check whether he is playing or not before including him in the team.
Josh Tongue: England pacer Josh Tongue is another great low budget pick. The tall pacer took 7 wickets in the first match, 4 in the 1st inning and 3 in the 2nd inning.
Keeper: Rishabh Pant
Batters: Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill
All-rounders: Ben Stokes
Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Arshdeep Singh
Keeper: Rishabh Pant, Jamie Smith
Batters: Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill
All-rounders: Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Josh Tongue, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep
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