England rally at Headingley after Rishabh Pant's scintillating century
Tons from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill put India in charge on 359 for three on day one after they were asked to bat first and Pant cemented their dominance by turning his overnight 65 into a stunning 134.
With India 430 for three, England were staring down the barrel but the tourists lost four for 24, which included overnight batters Gill and Pant, to go to lunch on 454 for seven in sultry conditions.
Captain Gill holed out off Shoaib Bashir for a masterful 147 and Ollie Pope took a stunning catch to end Karun Nair's Test comeback after four balls, while Pant was lbw to Josh Tongue as India teetered.
The wickets are falling thick and fast now!
A HUGE inswinger from Josh Tongue sees the end of Rishabh Pant 😍
🇮🇳 4️⃣5️⃣3️⃣-6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/HwpgRKnm22
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2025
Ben Stokes then took his fourth wicket of the innings when he found the outside edge of Shardul Thakur from the final ball before lunch, leaving India with work to do to get to an imposing 500.
It was a far cry from a wicketless first hour, with Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse again struggling to make an impact. The most memorable moment came with the last ball before drinks when Ben Duckett's throw hit team-mate Harry Brook in the ribs attempting to run Gill out as he scampered for a single.
Bashir was targeted by Pant, who brought up a seventh Test ton in style with a one-handed six before removing his helmet and gloves and celebrating the achievement with a front somersault.
Gill sought to get to 150 in similarly buccaneering fashion but found only Tongue in the deep before Jamie Smith missed a stumping chance off Pant the ball after he had deposited Bashir into the stands.
Nair's first Test innings for India since 2017 was a brief affair as a drive off Stokes was excellently pouched by Pope, diving full length to his left.
Tongue, who had been curiously overlooked up until 20 minutes before lunch, then jagged one back into Pant's pads and got the lbw verdict, before Thakur nicked off to Stokes on the stroke of lunch.
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The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Duckett praises Pope for shrugging off England pressure with century against India
Ben Duckett paid tribute to Ollie Pope's approach after the No 3 made 100 not out on day two of the first Test against India at Headingley, saying the vice-captain 'just stayed true to the way he plays' as England battled their way back into the game. Pope shrugged off the combined pressure of coming to the crease with his side in trouble and with his own place in the team being the subject of constant debate. He did so by dealing with Jasprit Bumrah, the world's best bowler, in glorious form and by coping with the worst batting conditions of the game to compile his ninth Test century, sealed in the final moments of an extended day, with celebrations both in the middle and in England's dressing room. Duckett, who by the time Pope raised his bat was watching from the players' balcony having scored 62, described his 'goosebumps' when Pope scored the single he required to tick into triple figures minutes before stumps. 'He was just so calm coming out,' Duckett said. 'He probably couldn't come out in tougher conditions, with Jasprit Bumrah running down the hill with the lights on. I don't know what's inside his head, but he's just stayed true to the way he plays, and there's no better feeling than that, scoring a hundred against that attack, coming out in the first over. You could see it in the way he celebrated, and it didn't just mean a lot to him, it meant a huge amount in the dressing room as well. I had goosebumps for him.' Speculation about Pope's place in the team had persisted despite his 171 in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last month, though the quality and importance of his latest century, given the match situation when he emerged – England 467 behind and Zak Crawley having been dismissed off the final ball of the first over, by an extraordinary and utterly unplayable delivery from Bumrah – will surely silence the sceptics for a while at least. 'We're very good at keeping things in the dressing room, but obviously you can hear the noise from outside of it,' Duckett said. 'There's noise outside the dressing room but there's no noise in it. We're not having discussions about who's going to play. The way Pope has dealt with that has just been superb and just sums up and proves why he's England's No 3 and doing the things that he's doing.' The mesmerising Bumrah took all three of the English wickets to fall – including snaring Joe Root with the ball after Pope's century celebrations – and also had Harry Brook caught at midwicket in the final over of the day only for the umpire to signal a no-ball, while India dropped three catches to allow England to reach 209 for three at stumps, still trailing by 262. 'He's the best bowler in the world,' Duckett said of Bumrah. 'He's extremely hard to face. He's good in any conditions, and when he's coming in down the hill with the lights on and it's swinging both ways, it's tough. Just his ability to bowl three or four different balls with no cue – you don't know if he's bowling a bouncer, or a slow ball, a yorker, an away-swinger or an inswinger until it comes out of his hand. You've got to watch the ball so hard with him.' Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Duckett admitted 'it could have been a lot worse', given the chances India failed to take and the way the tourists' innings fell apart during a period straddling the lunch break in which they lost their last seven wickets for 41, and their last six for just 24, to slip from the ominous position of 430 for three to a final score of 471. India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, said: 'It was a bit of a collapse I would say. I was expecting better than that, but it can happen. After 430 for three you expect to get a big score, because you're sitting on a comfortable position, but after losing the toss it was very good. Headingley normally on day one a lot of wickets get taken by the bowling side, so I think we batted well.' Josh Tongue took four of the last five, to demonstrate why Duckett's nickname for him is so apposite. 'I call him the mop, for mopping up the tails at the end,' Duckett said.
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pope proves his worth as England number three
LEEDS, England, June 21 (Reuters) - Number three the only position really up for debate as England headed into a crucial run of tests under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, but Ollie Pope's century against India justified the faith shown in him. After England had dragged themselves back into the first test against India at Headingley, the hosts needed to maintain the momentum in their reply to India's first-innings 471. The world's highest-ranked test bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, removed Zak Crawley in the first over to bring Pope to the crease. Selected at number three ahead of the burgeoning talent of Jacob Bethell, who averaged 52 on his first test tour of New Zealand, Pope settled after early scares to compile his ninth test century. The unbeaten hundred helped England close day two on 209-3, having looked on course, with India 430-3 before lunch, to get the series off to a losing start. "I just think he was so calm," said England opener Ben Duckett, who added 122 with Pope for the second wicket. "He couldn't walk out in tougher conditions. "I had goosebumps when he got his 100. He is such a big part of the dressing room. I take my hat off to him. I can't wait to give him a hug. "It seems pretty clear to me, coming into this test match, if someone scores 170 in the match before, they are going to play. The way Popey has dealt with it all shows why he is England's number three." The doubts surrounding Pope revolve around inconsistency. He averages less than 16 against Australia, and below 25 when facing India prior to his Headingley exploits. After following his 171 against Zimbabwe with another century when his country needed him most, England's selectors will be feeling comfortable in their decision to select Pope ahead of the precocious Bethell.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Test Match Special England v India: England weather Jasprit storm as game in the balance
Jonathan Agnew is alongside former England captains Michael Vaughan & Sir Alastair Cook, and commentator Prakash Wakankar for reaction of the second day's play at Headingley between England and India. They discuss Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance with the ball and England's temperament with the bat. Ben Duckett gives his thoughts on the day after hitting 62. Plus, TMS superfan and Lord's Taverners Super 1s player Ravi is surprised with a trip to the TMS commentary box.
