England and India Clash in High-Scoring Test at Headingley, England and India have previously played seven Test matches at Headingley, Leeds. The latest encounter, the opening Test of a five-match series, is shaping up to be another memorable battle at the historic venue.
In a match dominated by batting, both teams crossed the 450-run mark in their first innings. England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first. India took full advantage, posting a formidable 471 all out. The innings was powered by centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147), and Rishabh Pant (134).
Headingley: England responded strongly with the bat, putting up 465 runs before being bowled out. Ollie Pope led the charge with a century (106), while Harry Brook narrowly missed his ton, scoring 99. Valuable contributions also came from Ben Duckett (62), debutant Jamie Smith (40), and all-rounder Chris Woakes (38).
At the end of the first innings, India held a slender lead of just six runs. With two days remaining and momentum swinging both ways over the first three days, the match is finely poised and could still go in either team’s favor.
India’s Last Test Win at Headingley Came in 2002
India last won a Test match at Headingley, Leeds in 2002. Since then, they have played seven Tests at the venue against England, winning two, losing four, and drawing one. During their previous tour of England in 2021–22, India suffered a heavy defeat at Headingley, losing by an innings and 76 runs. Their most recent victory at this ground came 23 years ago, back in 2002.
That memorable win came under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy in the third Test of the 2002 series. India dominated the match and secured a convincing victory by an innings and 46 runs.
After choosing to bat first, India put up a massive total of 628/8 declared. Rahul Dravid scored 148, Sachin Tendulkar hit 193, Sourav Ganguly contributed 128, and Sanjay Bangar added a valuable 68.
India then bowled out England for 273 in their first innings and enforced the follow-on. Despite Nasser Hussain’s fighting century (110), England could only manage 309 in their second innings, falling well short. Rahul Dravid was named Player of the Match for his outstanding century.