England have superior batting power and Ben Stokes is the series' undisputed alpha male, but India are full of talent... so which side stacks up better ahead of blockbuster series?

There are always fireworks when England meet India, and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — which gets underway at Headingley on Friday — should be no exception.
Are the Bazballers capable of blitzing their way to victory against a team as talented as India?
Here our Cricket Correspondent LAWRENCE BOOTH gives his verdict on which country boasts the superior XI…
Openers
No opener in Test cricket has scored more than Ben Duckett's 2,216 runs since his return to the side in late 2022, and his partnership with the wildly inconsistent Zak Crawley is a fascinating study in contrasts: short and tall, left and right, cutter and driver.
But while Duckett is now a fixture, Crawley remains under scrutiny after a nightmare tour of New Zealand.
India's KL Rahul has an average to match his age — 33 — but that shouldn't distract from his track record overseas, including 110 at Sydney a decade ago, 149 at the Oval in 2018 and 129 at Lord's in 2021.
England know all about the terrifying gifts of Yashasvi Jaiswal, a decade Rahul's junior, after his successive double-centuries against them in India early last year. In English conditions, though, he is unproven.
England 7/10
Middle order
There can be no concern about Joe Root and Harry Brook, who put on 454 at Multan over the winter and will resume their middle-order alliance on home turf at Headingley.
But, with Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings, the pressure on Ollie Pope will be intense. It's not ideal England's No 3 and vice-captain is playing for his career after 56 Tests.
India's Shubman Gill has two burdens to shoulder: the captaincy and the absence of retired duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. And he'll have to improve on his career average of 35 from a new position of No 4.
Sai Sudharsan may be thrown in for a Test debut at No 3, while 33-year-old Karun Nair — a long-ago triple-hundred against England on his c.v. — could return for his first Test in eight years. They're all talented players, but it feels fragile.
England 8
India 6.5
All-rounder
Ben Stokes seems to have settled on his role with the ball: short, sharp spells to ensure his body survives 10 Tests against India and Australia.
But he could do with runs. The England captain has just five fifties in 24 innings since the start of 2024, and an average of 27. With Kohli absent, Stokes becomes the series' undisputed alpha male.
India's Ravindra Jadeja is one of Test cricket's most unsung all-rounders, but his record falls away in England, where he averages 29 with the bat and 43 with his left-arm spin.
India may also find room for one of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored a memorable century from No 8 at Melbourne over the winter, and Shardul Thakur, who swung the Oval Test his side's way in 2021 with a pair of half-centuries down the order.
England 8
India 7
Wicketkeeper
After enjoying his first year as a Test cricketer against West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Jamie Smith now embarks on the serious stuff.
His counter-attacks from No 7 could become a feature of the series, especially if India's seamers have been made to work hard.
Rishabh Pant's recovery from the car crash that nearly killed him in December 2022 is one of cricket's most heartwarming stories. But he remains one of the most dangerous Test hitters in the world, and can turn a game for India in a session.
Like Smith, he doesn't miss much behind the stumps.
England 7
India 7
Spinners
The noise around Shoaib Bashir has quietened a little after he took nine wickets against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, but England's experiment with an inexperienced 21-year-old off-spinner never feels more than a game or two away from coming unstuck.
Jadeja should offer the control Bashir lacks, but the question is whether India can also squeeze in the left-arm wrist-spin of Kuldeep Yadav, who is used sparingly at Test level but has still picked up 56 wickets at 22, including 19 against England at home two winters ago.
His presence in these conditions may be seen as a luxury. Washington Sundar is on stand-by with his off-breaks.
England 6
India 7
Seamers
Chris Woakes may be 36, but his home record is formidable: 137 Test wickets at 21.
Brydon Carse had a first winter to remember in Pakistan and New Zealand, and Josh Tongue has a point to prove after a mixed return to Test cricket against Zimbabwe. Stokes will be able to relieve the frontliners for 45 minutes here and there.
India's Jasprit Bumrah is an all-time great, and could win a Test or two by himself. He will be backed up by the feisty but occasionally loose Mohammed Siraj, and possibly Prasidh Krishna, who bowled well at Sydney in January and may keep out left-armer Arshdeep Singh.
Whether India go in with three or four seamers depends on the identity of their all-rounder.
England 7.5
India 7.5
Totals
England 43.5

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Telegraph

27 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Tip-toeing assassin Jasprit Bumrah finds fast-bowling perfection

As Jasprit Bumrah strode on to the Headingley turf, the crowd was pregnant with expectation. It was not merely that play was about to resume, with England beginning their innings – but that the ball would be thrust into the hands of one of the most remarkable bowlers in Test match history. The clouds circling Leeds lent Bumrah's preparation an especially ominous quality. With his slingshot action, pace and array of variations, Bumrah does not need conditions to be in his favour to be lethal. But the moisture on the Headingley pitch, the grey conditions overhead and the floodlights amplified the challenge facing England's batsmen. Bumrah's first two warm-ups were in vain: drizzle delayed his first bowl in a first-class game for almost six months. Bumrah's appearances will be rationed this summer which only makes the sight of him standing at the top of his mark, poised to unleash hell, more tantalising. Zak Crawley was tasked with facing Bumrah from 22 yards. Perhaps Crawley hoped that, 168 days since he last bowled in a first-class match, Bumrah would need a few overs to relocate his best. If Crawley entertained this delusion, Bumrah's first delivery – which straightened on an immaculate line just outside off stump – showed otherwise. Now Bumrah circled on to off stump, returning to his spot with the menace of a debt collector door-knocking. His third ball squared up Crawley, and narrowly evaded his edge. His fourth delivery kissed the edge but bounced in front of the slips, earning four scarcely-deserved runs. Crawley then blocked the fifth ball securely enough. From the last ball of his opening over, Bumrah seemed to have mislaid his immaculate line, instead spearing the ball towards leg stump. But as Crawley shaped to play the ball through the on side, the ball leapt up, like a leopard out of a bush, and swung away to claim the edge: fast-bowling perfection, a fusion of swing, seam, bounce and 90mph pace. Jasprit Bumrah has arrived. — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 For Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, the challenge in the rest of Bumrah's spell was to do what Crawley had failed to do, and survive. This almost proved too much for Duckett from his first ball against Bumrah, which he poked just short of gully. Three balls later, Bumrah changed his line of attack and unfurled a yorker which struck Duckett's boot. But India's review showed that the ball hit Duckett fractionally outside the line of leg stump. When Duckett is batting with either Crawley or Pope, England have a left and right-handed pair against the new ball, forcing bowlers to adjust their lines. Yet this is rather less advantageous against Bumrah. Indeed, one of the many wonders of Bumrah is his equal potency bowling to left and right-handers alike: absurdly, he averages under 20 against both. Whoever faced Bumrah bowled in his opening spell at Leeds, the sense of foreboding remained. In his third over, Bumrah treated Pope to a near-replica of his dismissal of Crawley, which again seemed to defy geometry as it moved in the air and off the pitch. This time, the batsman's edge bisected third slip and gully and secured an undeserved four runs. The over ended with another edge from Pope, this time bouncing just in front of gully and again going for four. Bumrah's wry grimace spoke of his ill-fortune. When he returned for his fourth over, Shubman Gill vowed that Bumrah should not again suffer the injustice of an edge through the vacant slips going for four. As such, he fortified the slip cordon – which now comprised four slips and a gully. Duckett knew what awaited him: a series of deliveries angled across him, each moving wickedly and testing his famous reticence to leave the ball alone. This time, the edge did land in a fielder's hands, when Duckett slashed the ball to backward point; yet Ravindra Jadeja, one of the world's greatest fielders, shelled a relatively routine chance. When Duckett survived the next over, Bumrah's first spell ended with a haul of 1-21 from five overs: figures can seldom have been more deceptive. By the time Bumrah returned, an over before tea, the afternoon gloom had given way to glorious sunshine. Yet his threat was undimmed. Duckett, already fortuitous against Bumrah earlier, almost edged another venomous delivery, which pitched on the leg stump then curved past his groping edge. Finally, in the fourth over of his spell, Bumrah cramped up Duckett and elicited an inside edge, which crashed into his stumps. Bumrah celebrated with an undemonstrative smile, exuding the air of a man who was not surprised. Then again, nor should Bumrah have been: no one else in Test history, after all, has taken more than 200 wickets at under 20 apiece. This record is even more remarkable as he disproportionately rests against weaker sides. 🎙️ "You need a breakthrough, you go to Bumrah and he delivers." Ben Duckett departs for 62 ❌ — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 Moving the ball both ways from his exaggerated angle wide of the crease, Bumrah plotted his moves ahead, like Ronnie O'Sullivan constructing a century break. Joe Root was perilously close to edging behind. Pope, who was once the victim of one of Bumrah's most outlandish yorkers, drove at a ball that left him, edging to third slip. This time, Yashasvi Jaiswal spilled the chance. Bumrah covered his face in his Indian cap in his despair. As he trudged back to fine leg, Rishabh Pant ran towards the bowler to console him, apologising for his teammate's failure to match Bumrah's excellence. In the last throes of the day, Gill returned – inevitably – to Bumrah. From his second ball, Pope got an inside edge and scrambled a single to bring up his century; perhaps Bumrah's luck had not changed. But next ball, Root was deceived by a delivery that straightened rather than moved in, and poked the ball to slip: his tenth dismissal to Bumrah in Test cricket. GOT HIM! Jasprit Bumrah gets the BIG wicket of Joe Root ⚡️ — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2025 Harry Brook has never previously had the misfortune of facing Bumrah before. In an over and a half at the close, Brook learned just how hazardous batting against Bumrah is. Deliveries by turn nipped in and away; there was a surprise slower ball too. Then, Bumrah showed off his bouncer, cramping up Brook and watching as Mohammed Siraj rushed back from mid on to complete a fine catch. Bumrah raised his arms aloft in elation. Then, he heard the umpire's sickening call: he had overstepped, for the third time in the over, winning Brook a reprieve. A brutal bouncer to end the day, which Brook narrowly ducked inside the line of, emphasised the challenge that awaits England on day three and beyond. England's fear for the rest of the series will be that Bumrah will be just as good but less unlucky. Their only comfort will be that, unlike Australia last winter, they will not have to face Bumrah in all five Tests.

The Guardian

33 minutes ago

• The Guardian

Pope century lifts England after bowlers claw control away from India

A day on from that much-debated decision to bowl first by Ben Stokes and the clouds had started to lift for England. The hosts were still some way from flipping the advantage they had handed India but by stumps, after an earlier fightback with the ball, Ollie Pope's unbeaten 100 had established something akin to a foothold in the contest. Pope came into this Test with questions being asked about his spot at No 3; questions that centred around a poor record against India and Australia and not quelled by that 171 against Zimbabwe. Jacob Bethell, flavour of the month in New Zealand late last year, was breathing down his neck, even if potential, rather than back catalogue, was the driver. And yet as England closed on 209 for three in reply to India's 471 all out – a total derailed by a collapse of seven for 41 – Stokes was grateful to his vice-captain for holding firm in the face of a typically electric display by Jasprit Bumrah. It would be wrong to roll out Graham Gooch's old line about Richard Hadlee – 'World XI at one end, Ilford 2nds at the other' – but when Bumrah was on, the smell of wickets hung in the clammy air. India's remarkable slingshot could easily have had more than his three for 48 from 13 overs, not least the edge that Yashasvi Jaiswal had earlier grassed at slip when Pope was on 60. His day underlined where the crux of this series likely sits but ended with those broad shoulders slunk. Harry Brook, on nought simply tasked with seeing out the final over, was caught playing a wild hook, only for a front-foot no-ball to be called. The Yorkshire faithful could have been forgiven for grumbling about there being 'more brains in a pork pie' – a charge that at least could not be laid at Pope. His one life aside, England's No 3 had been largely equal to his unique challenge of Bumrah and the spikiness of Mohammed Siraj. Emerging after the loss of Zak Crawley sixth ball, and looking in touch from the outset, Pope sent 13 fours cruising along this fast outfield. Pope looked a bit like a local at times, picking up runs behind square as they tend to do in these parts and sealing his ninth Test century before the close. The celebration was one of pent up frustration being released. But he also needed partners, Ben Duckett making a typically punchy 62 in a stand of 122 runs and Joe Root adding 28 in an alliance worth of 80. Both had early reprieves – Duckett dropped on 15, Root overturning an lbw on seven – and both were ultimately Bumrah'd in the end. It was never going to be straightforward, with India's collapse either side of lunch as welcome for England as it was potentially ominous. The clouds had rolled over Headingley to see the Dukes ball start hooping and only made way in the evening. For Josh Tongue this was simply manna from heaven, day one figures of none for 75 from 16 transformed into four for 86 from 20 courtesy of a rapid demolition of the tail. As Stokes joked in his celebrations, Tongue was devouring some rabbit pie here. Although the spark was Shoaib Bashir getting the breakthrough that his performance 24 hours earlier had deserved when Shubman Gill looked to take down the off-spinner on 147 and skewed the ball to deep backward square. Gill and Pant had put on 209 for the fourth wicket, the latter turning his overnight 65 into three figures and celebrating with a superb somersault. Going by the ovation, the locals thought was flippin' marvellous. 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 Pant sure is an entertainer, his eventual 134 from 178 balls packed with more fun than a day at Disney. And yet for all the tumbling scoops and range hitting into the Western Terrace – 12 fours and six sixes – it was stitched together with watchful defence. This, as much as the mischief, is why only three wicketkeepers – Adam Gilchrist (17), Andy Flower (12) and Les Ames (8) – have scored more than his seven Test centuries. But with an end opened up by Gill's removal at 430 for four, the previously listless England suddenly surged and India's total became the lowest in Test history to contain three centuries. Among the three ducks that made it so was poor Karun Nair, who had spent eight years waiting for a Test recall and chipped his fourth delivery from Stokes to a flying Pope at short cover. It really can be a cruel sport at times. Tongue knows it all too well, of course, the fast bowler back this summer after an 18-month battle with injuries. Reward for this perseverance came with the eventual removal of Pant, a switch to around the wicket messing up the left-hander's calibrations and leading to an odd-looking lbw offering no shot. Jamie Smith, who had earlier missed a stumping off Pant when he was on 124, could also breathe a sigh of relief here. This was possibly surpassed by those from Duckett and Crawley after Tongue gobbled up his rabbit pie and 40 minutes of rain then intervened. Not that conditions improved much after the restart, Bumrah steaming in under lights, squaring up Crawley in his first over, and seeing an edge fly into the cordon. But on this sticky second day Indian hands lost some of their adhesiveness and Pope managed to wriggle England free.

The Independent

an hour ago

• The Independent

Ollie Pope century silences critics as England fight back against India

Ollie Pope repaid England's faith and banished further questions over his place as his fine century helped turn the tables on day two of the first Test against India. Pope's grip on the number three spot looked shaky at the start of the summer as Jacob Bethell pushed hard for the shirt, but having shored up his position with 171 against Zimbabwe last month he put the debate to bed with 100 not out against the might of Jasprit Bumrah and company. Ben Stokes had claimed it would be 'remarkable' to dispense with his vice-captain and those words chimed as Pope led England to 209 for three in response to India's 471 at Headingley. The tourists had earlier missed the opportunity to bat their opponents out of the game, losing seven for 41 as Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes finished with four wickets apiece. Their combined efforts rebalanced the game after India's serene progress on day one but the presence of Bumrah cast a long shadow. The world's best bowler lived up to the billing, ripping out Zak Crawley with the new ball and returning for Ben Duckett and Joe Root, but his best was not quite enough to remove Pope. Twice he saw genuine edges sail through gaps in the cordon and when one did go to hand at gully, Yashasvi Jaiswal spilled him on 60. Pope dealt admirably with the interrogation, never losing his composure and scoring 13 fours in a 125-ball ton boasting plenty of character. The milestone may have arrived with a scratchy single into the leg-side but it was fitting that it came off the relentless Bumrah. The day began ominously for England, who took the field at 359 for three and soon began dancing to Rishabh Pant's tune. Resuming on 65 he became the third centurion of the innings with some outrageous hitting. He ramped Shoaib Bashir's first ball over slip, rang up the 400 with a fierce pull for six and flogged the spinner one-handed over the ropes to bring up his hundred. He marked the occasion with an extravagant front flip to delight the crowd but as soon as his stand of 209 with captain Shubman Gill was over, it was England making the big moves. Karun Nair bagged a duck on his first appearance in seven years, Pope snatching a smart one-handed catch, then Pant paid for a moment of indecision as he squared up then offered no stroke as Tongue attacked from round the wicket. The Nottinghamshire seamer had waited an hour and 40 minutes to get his hands on the ball but he made up for the wait, clean bowling Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna in a four-over spell of four for 11. A rain shower delayed the start of the England innings, which began with clouds above, floodlights on and Bumrah licking his lips. He picked off Crawley with menacing efficiency in the first over, prying around the outside edge twice before having him caught at slip with a cracker. The rest of his spell was edge-of-the-seat viewing – hitting Ben Duckett on the toe for a tight lbw shout and twice coming close to having the left-hander caught at backward point. Pope also had a stroke of luck on 10, saved only by the yawning gap where fourth slip should have been. But whenever Bumrah was not bowling it was a different game. Runs came easier at the other end, with England's natural aggression meaning a regular supply of boundaries. At one stage Bumrah even proved his fallibility by fumbling the ball over the rope at fine leg. Pope has a reputation as a skittish starter but he looked calmer than usual, his footwork less erratic and his drives a little crisper as England took tea at 107 for one from just 24 overs. Duckett reached 50 with a classic sweep but when Pope followed after the break it was another moral victory for Bumrah. Tearing back in from the Pavilion End he drew a thick edge and was let down again, with no third slip in place. Pope's luck was in once more when Jaiswal put him down and Bumrah eventually took the catchers out of the equation as he finally got a second scalp, flattening Duckett's middle stump via a drag-on. Pope was made to work for his century, trading blows with the seamers until he finally reached the landmark and erupted in celebration. Root succumbed to Bumrah's very next delivery and Harry Brook was caught off a no-ball in a dramatic finish, leaving Pope standing tallest at stumps.