It’s not every day that a team smashes five centuries in a Test match and still ends up losing. But that’s exactly what happened to India in the first Test against England at Headingley.
This match will now go down in the record books for the wrong reason as India became the first team ever to lose a Test despite having five players score hundreds in the game.
Rishabh Pant hit twin tons, Shubman Gill led from the front with a classy 147in the first innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal got a fine 101, and KL Rahul added a second-innings 137.
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Yet, the scoreboard didn't matter when England chased down 371 runs with ease on Day 5, completely dominating the final day’s play.
When did the game slip away from India in Headingley?
India’s first innings looked perfect when they were 430 for 3, but then the collapse began. Seven wickets fell for just 41 runs. Something similar happened in the second innings too as they were 333 for 4 and then they collapsed again and lost the last six wickets for 31 runs.
So despite scoring 471 and 364 in two innings, India didn’t bat England out of the match. These collapses turned the game into an open contest. England, on the other hand, grabbed their chances.
Jasprit Bumrah led the bowling with a five-wicket haul in the first innings, but in the final innings, England completely kept him quiet. India’s bowlers couldn’t build pressure as Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Siraj were expensive.
MORE: ICC to take a disciplinary action on Pant after twin centuries?
India’s fielding was also poor throughout the match. Several catches were dropped that helped England’s batters settle in and build big partnerships.
Duckett scored a match-defining 149, and with support from the likes of Root and Jamie Smith, England chased the target down comfortably on a pitch that offered very little help on Day 5.
Why is this loss historic and embarrassing for India?
Australia once lost a Test despite four players getting hundreds and that was way back in 1928–29. But this is the first time any team lost with five centuries in a single Test.
It’s a harsh reality check for India in their first match of the new World Test Championship cycle and the first Test under Shubman Gill’s full-time leadership.
While the top-order showed promise, the lack of depth, repeated collapses and missed opportunities in the field all combined to hand England a memorable win and India, a painful record.