India Sets Records but Loses to England in First Test Thriller originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The first Test match between England and India concluded with England winning by five wickets after successfully chasing a target of 371 and reaching 373. 

The win marked England’s second-highest successful run chase on home soil and one of the highest in their Test history. Their highest chase remains 378, achieved against India in 2022 at Edgbaston.

Top contributions came from Ben Duckett, who scored an unbeaten 149, earning him the Player of the Match award. The knock marked his sixth Test century. Zak Crawley chipped in with 65 runs from 78 balls in the fourth innings, while Joe Root and Jamie Smith added 53 and 44 runs, respectively. Duckett and Crawley formed a 188-run partnership, the second-highest fourth-innings stand in Test history.

On the Indian side, they produced centuries in both their innings: in their first, Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), Shubman Gill (147), and Rishabh Pant (134) scored triple figures. In their second innings, KL Rahul (137) and Rishabh Pant again (118) achieved centuries. Despite having a record five centuries, India became the first team in Test history to lose a match after such a dominant batting performance.

India totaled 835 runs across both innings, with scores of 471 and 364, but England still outplayed them and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

Attention now turns to the second Test, set to begin on July 2. England will look to build on their opening win, while India aims to bounce back and level the series.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.