India’s first Test of the five-match series against England ended in defeat at Headingley, and it brought with it a string of unwanted records for the Shubman Gill-led side, despite several sparkling individual performances.After setting a daunting target of 371 in the fourth innings, England overhauled it with remarkable composure, cruising to a five-wicket win after 82 overs on the final day. Ben Duckett’s sublime 149 set the tone, while Joe Root and Jamie Smith calmly steered the chase home.However, while England celebrated one of their finest modern-day fourth-innings chases, India’s unwanted records piled up. The biggest among them was that the visitors became the first team in Test history to lose despite notching up five individual centuries in the same match. This surpassed the previous record of four, set by Australia against England at the MCG way back in the 1928/29 Ashes.
Centuries by Indian players in the first Test at Headingley
- Yashasvi Jaiswal: 101 (1st innings)
- Shubman Gill: 147 (1st innings)
- Rishabh Pant: 134 (1st innings) and 118 (3rd innings)
- KL Rahul: 137 (3rd innings)
Pant’s pair of hundreds also made him only the second designated wicketkeeper to score centuries in both innings of a Test, joining Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (2001).
Most runs scored by a team in a defeat
- 861 England vs Australia, Headingley 1948
- 847 Pakistan vs England, Rawalpindi 2022
- 837 New Zealand vs England, Trent Bridge 2022
- 835 India vs England Headingley 2025
India’s batting effort across the two innings added up to 835 runs, making it the fourth-highest aggregate for a team in a losing cause in Test cricket. Only England (861 vs Australia, Headingley 1948), Pakistan (847 vs England, Rawalpindi 2022), and New Zealand (837 vs England, Trent Bridge 2022) have scored more and still lost.For England, the 373-5 win over India is the second-largest target they chased in their history, only behind the 378-3 victory at Birmingham in 2022. Notably, two of England’s biggest run chases have come in their last two home tests against India.
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This successful pursuit is also significant in terms of timing. It ranks as the second-largest target ever chased on the final scheduled day of a Test, behind only Don Bradman’s Australia (404 vs England at Leeds, 1948).
Highest run-target runs successfully chased on the last scheduled day of a Test match
- 404 – AUS vs ENG, Leeds, 1948 (Day 5)
- 371 – IND vs ENG, Leeds, 2025 (Day 5)
- 350 – ENG vs IND, Leeds, 2025 (Day 5)
- 345 – WI vs NZ, Auckland, 1969 (Day 4)
- 342 – WI vs ENG, Lord’s, 1984 (Day 5)
As India look to regroup before the second Test begins on July 2, the records from Headingley will serve as an uncomfortable reminder that scoring big doesn’t always necessitate results.
