India hit rock-bottom, slump to an abysmal low to register unwanted first in 148 years of Test cricket history
India hit an embarrassing all-time low with the five-wicket loss in Leeds
England secured one of their best wins in the Bazball era, going 1-0 up in the five-match contest on Tuesday. While it was a statement win for the Ben Stokes-led side, with the home team pulling off their second-highest successful chase, India hit an embarrassing all-time low with the five-wicket loss.
India scored a total of 835 runs in the Leeds Test match, their third-highest figure in a single game in England and the biggest in 11 years. The total comprised five centuries across the two innings, two of which belonged to vice-captain Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were the other centurions in the first innings, while KL Rahul notched up his triple-figure score in the second innings. The knocks, if nothing, did end all the apprehensions about the Indian batting heading into the series opener in the wake of the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
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However, their charges proved futile as England chased it down comfortably. After nearly nullifying the first innings in Leeds, falling short of the mark by just six runs, after a century from Zak Crawley and a knock of 99 from Harry Brook, England clobbered 371 runs with five wickets in hand to complete their second-highest chase in history. Incidentally, their best-ever chase, of 378, also came against India, in 2021 in Birmingham.
As a result, India became the first side in 148 years of test history to lose after witnessing five centuries. They went past the previous low of four such knocks by Australia against England in 1928/29. Moreover, 835 also became the fourth-highest total in a losing cause, the second-highest against England after 847 by Pakistan in 2022, and the highest for India.
India will aim for a comeback in the second Test match, beginning on July 2 at Edgbaston.
