ENG vs IND Live Score, 1st Test Day 1: Sai Sudharsan makes his debut, toss in 10 minutes

India Today

5 hours ago

B Sai Sudharsan gets the Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara. It's a huge moment for the young left-hander from Tamil Nadu. He is thrilled to bits. He is the man of the moment in the Team India huddle.
His Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill will also be his maiden Test captain.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Sai Sudharsan is set to make his Test debut today in Leeds. He will bat at No. 3. Meanwhile, Karun Nair is set to return to the XI for the first time in over eight years. He is expected to bat at No. 6.
Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India A captain, has to wait longer for his chances.
Who will join Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the fast-bowling group? Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna or Akaash Deep?
Rishabh Pant is on his third full tour of England, where he made his Test debut in 2018 and struck a stunning 114 in just his third match. He followed it up with a blistering 146 at Edgbaston in 2022, both coming in vain as India lost those matches. Now with Kohli and Rohit retired from Tests, Pant steps up as vice-captain under new skipper Shubman Gill, finally cementing his place as a senior batter in the side.
For new captain Shubman Gill and his young side, there is no gentle handover. It is a trial by fire. And it begins at Leeds where India haven't played much since their famous win in 2002.
Shubman Gill's appointment as Test captain did raise eyebrows. At 25, and still finding his feet in red-ball cricket, his elevation marks a bold and telling shift in approach from the selectors and team management. A white-ball star, Gill has now been handed the reins in the toughest format, with the hope that responsibility will sharpen his edge rather than weigh him down.
It's not without precedent. Back in 2014, a 26-year-old Virat Kohli took over a team in transition after MS Dhoni's sudden retirement midway through the Australia series. Kohli rose to the occasion and went on to carve his name among the greats of Indian Test cricket.
Can Gill do the same? Why not.
Ajinkya Rahane in a Q/A segment in his YouTube channel was asked on his playing XI for the Indian team in the first Test. Interestingly he decided against the experienced and in-form Karun Nair and opted to bring in Dhruv Jurel in his place.
Ajinkya Rahane's Probable XI for the Headingley Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Several former cricketers believe it's time India backed experience over promise and handed Easwaran a long-awaited opportunity. Among them is former India batter Mohammed Kaif, who voiced his support on X stating that Easwaran's consistent run in first-class cricket deserves recognition at the highest level.
At just 25, Gill will be tasked with not just leading a transitional squad, but also holding the batting order together. Having struggled in SENA countries so far, his form in England will be under intense scrutiny, especially after he confirmed he'll bat at No. 4, with Rishabh Pant coming in at No. 5.
Now appointed as the vice-captain, Rishabh Pant will not be the free-willed dynamic batter that we have always seen. Now he will be burdened with responsibilities and will have to deal with the pressure of being the senior man in the Test team. Will Pant continue his usual playing style or will we see a change in his approach to Test cricket? Something that will be interesting to see.
It will certainly be a full-circle moment for Karun Nair if he does get the nod to start. Interestingly, he was part of the squad in the 2018 tour and did not get a chance to play. Since then he never got called up as well and it will be poetic if he makes his return in England where he was last with the national team.
"You know, getting that first session under the belt was a relief. I'm grateful to get that opportunity. Life has come full circle because I went out of the team in England, and now I'm coming back into the team in England, so it's been a while, and I'm trying to embrace that," Karun Nair mentioned in an interview with the BCCI.
Under the tutelage of Brendon McCullum, the England cricket team have tried to play a very non-traditional form of Test cricket. Ultra-aggressive with the bat, the team has declared their innings on Day 1 on occasions. This has led to Test matches being fast moving.
Especially on flat tracks, teams that have not been able to match the tempo, have been routed. Ask Pakistan in 2022, who were blown out of the water in their own home (0-3) by this English team. On pitches where other teams had to toil, score 500 runs over 2 days, and then wait patiently for the other team to collapse, England simply said 'No, too much work. I rather blast 500 in 3 sessions and freak the opposition out till they hand me the match themselves'.
The tactic has worked on several occasions, and failed miserably in others.
It goes without saying that McCullum has been able to identify a crop of players who are suited to his style of playing. One of the key differentiators among the current crop of England batters against the rest of the world is how many balls do they leave (shoulder arms) at the start of their innings. (What's Bazball? Kingshuk Kusari explains)
The batting maestro has shared his thoughts. He has given a solid piece of advice to the young Indian batting group.
"In England you always keep three things in mind when you play. First, the overhead conditions. Second, the air quality and third the pitch condition. Each one of these factors influences how you should play. There will be phases of play when you will find it very difficult to play shots. So you need to be careful and identify such phases," Tendulkar told RevSportz.
Tendulkar said that once the sun comes out, the batters can score a lot of runs.
'It is not a defensive act to leave balls. Rather, it is also a show of intent to be able to correctly leave balls and play for the right time. And then when the sun is out it is a beautiful track to bat on where the batters can score a lot of runs,' said Tendulkar.
Former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's wife, Prithi Narayanan, shared an emotional note on Instagram. Reflecting on Ashwin's retirement, she admitted to having "many mixed feelings" and said she now has to "find a way to love" Test cricket differently.
Ashwin retired after the Brisbane Test last year, followed by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in May 2025, leaving India with an inexperienced squad for the tough five-match series in England.
Her Instagram story read: "Test match day for India and I woke up with many many mixed feelings :) have to find a way to love it and unlearn the only way I knew to."
Well, there was a healthy tinge of green on the pitch on the eve of the Test match. You expect some amount of trimming. But, the opening day is going to be a good battle between bat and ball. The pitch is expected to offer some assistance to the fast bowlers. A lot depends on the overhead conditions.
But, this has been a bowl first venue.
Teams winning the toss have tended to opt to bowl here. In the last six Tests at the venue, teams bowling first have gone on to win the Test matches.
254 for 7, 296 for 3, 362 for 9, 322 for 5 have been the last four successful fourth innings chases at this venue since 2017.
Good news, folks! The weather in Leeds is good for cricket. There was forecast of rain, but the dark clouds have stayed away from Headingley so far. It's going to be an interruption-free day today. But, with the English weather, you can never be sure.
Here's BBC's weather forecast for Friday, June 20 in Leeds. Don't check the top right row. There's prediction of showers on the 2nd, third, fourth and fifth day.
India and England have played 136 Tests against each other. India have won 35 of them, lost 51 while 50 of them have ended in a draw.
In England, India have played 67 Tests and won only nine of them. Two of those wins came in their last tour under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
At Headingley, India have playd seven Tests, won two and lost four.
Chris Woakes returns to the England XI for the first Test against India, replacing Sam Cook after recovering from an ankle injury. Brydon Carse comes in for the injured Gus Atkinson.
Woakes slots in at No. 8, strengthening England's all-round options and allowing Jamie Smith to play as a specialist wicketkeeper at No. 7.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope is preferred over youngster Jacob Bethell at No. 3. Despite a poor average of 22.05 in Tests against India and Australia, Pope retains his spot after a recent 171 against Zimbabwe.
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.
A young Indian side under a new captain will be determined to script a compelling tale over the next 45 days as a transitioning India squares off against an equally volatile England in a five-Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, beginning in Leeds on Friday.
History offers little comfort to visitors. Only three Indian teams — Ajit Wadekar's class of 1971, Kapil Dev's men in 1986, and Rahul Dravid's spirited side in 2007 — have managed to conquer England in their own backyard over the last nine decades.
Nor does the absence of Virat Kohli, India's most committed Test cricketer of the past decade, help matters. His retirement leaves a noticeable void in the batting line-up, which now appears a touch lighter on experience.
For 25-year-old Shubman Gill, the newly appointed Test skipper, this series will be nothing short of a baptism by fire. England, under Brendon McCullum's fearless approach and Ben Stokes' aggressive leadership, have rewritten the grammar of Test batting — a challenge Gill must be prepared for.
His elevation as India's 37th Test captain was as much about potential as it was about vision. While his credentials as a batter and leader in red-ball cricket are still evolving, the 'Prince' now finds himself at the centre of a high-stakes narrative — with a full plate and much to prove.
India's newly appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, will begin his leadership tenure with a challenging five-Test series in England, starting with the opening match in Leeds on Friday. Leading the side in testing English conditions will be no easy task, and Gill will need to show patience and composure to succeed on this demanding tour.
This will be the first assignment for the Shubman Gill-led side following the Test retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. India will be without their batting talisman Kohli, former captain Rohit, and senior off-spinner Ashwin - all of whom have called time on their red-ball careers. Interestingly, Leeds has experienced unusually warm weather this June. If such conditions persist and the surfaces remain dry, India might consider fielding two specialist spinners in the playing XI.
It's the big day that we had been waiting for. It's the start of a new era in Indian Test cricket as Shubman Gill leads a young team in the post Big Three era. It's not going to be easy for India, who are entering the Lion's Den. England are nearly unbeatable at Leeds and the Bazballing Ben Stokes's side have overpowered opposition teams with their batting might.
Can India sprnig a surprise at Headingley?