England players react as India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, center, runs to score after playing a shot on day one of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Friday, June 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul open for the visiting side, as both teams march on a sunny day in Leeds on Friday (June 20, 2025). India has not played a test on English soil without former skipper Kohli at the helm since 2011, with Shubman Gill, at 25, becoming his country’s fifth-youngest captain.
With 12 overs completed, India looks strong at 36 runs without loss of a wicket as the opening pair braves through the early morning session.
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first during the first Test against India.
For India, the Tamil Nadu star batsman Sai Sudarshan will be making his Test debut and he is expected to bat in No.3 position.
After winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes said ““Headingley is a very good cricket wicket, hopefully use the early conditions and get something out of it.”
Indian captain Shubman Gill also said he would have bowled first.
Playing XI
India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Karun Nair, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj
England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib Bashir.
India and England players observe silence in memory of plane crash victims
India and England players along with on-field umpires observed a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad.
In the gruesome accident of the Air India flight to London, 241 passengers and crew on board were killed on June 14.
“What happened in the aircraft (crash), I think the whole India was disheartened but at the same time the only thing from our side… we are going to be sticking with them, how we can make India happy again,” vice-captain Rishabh Pant had told media here on Wednesday.
On the cricketing front, top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan became the latest Test entrant for India, and he will bat at No. 3.
India under new captain Shubman Gill are searching for their first Test series win on England shores since 2007.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – June 20, 2025 03:16 pm IST
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