India scripted a landmark first win at Edgbaston, brought about by outthinking and outplaying England’s Bazball, writes Sarah Waris.
At the toss in Edgbaston, India captain Shubman Gill left many curious when he called 2025 “a year of chaos.” In a year where first-time winners have sprung up across the sporting world, perhaps he was quietly wishing that his team too could do a first by winning a Test match at the venue. Or maybe, he meant it literally.
This year, Indian cricket has been swept by a storm of retirements, with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin leaving big vacuums to fill. India have also had to look past Jasprit Bumrah as their next Test captain, after he sustained an injury at the start of the year, for someone whose workload management would be easier to deal with. They went with Gill, primed to be the next face of Indian cricket, but sans a Test hundred away from Asia ahead of the tour, not everyone was convinced of the appointment.
India’s recent Test form also told its own story. With one victory in their last nine Tests, this was a team adrift without many solutions.
The team sheet for Edgbaston reflected this state of chaos. Three changes after one defeat spoke of muddled thinking. Young Sai Sudharsan was left out, with Karun Nair moving up to No.3 instead. Bumrah, though fit, was rested in keeping with a pre-series management plan. Kuldeep Yadav, India's best spinner, was omitted again for Washington Sundar to lengthen the batting, while Shardul Thakur was replaced by Nitish Kumar Reddy, a more reliable batter. It seemed disjointed, with the biggest question looming: where would the 20 wickets come from?
At Leeds, England chased down 371 with intent, completing the task inside 82 overs. Even Bumrah, the side’s most reliable bowler, had gone wicketless in the fourth innings. The message was hard to ignore: on flat pitches, against a batting unit committed to playing without hesitation, a target of even 400 was unlikely to pose a challenge. And so, at Edgbaston, India adjusted their approach. Realising Bazball's fury could only be doused by responding with fire, they set themselves up to outbat England, hoping to leave them with a challenge too stiff to overcome with sheer aggression alone.
Once again, Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to field, his tenth decision to chase in 11 home Tests after winning the toss. It was a familiar pattern, one that had brought England success: since June 2022, they had chased down targets of 250 or more on six occasions, the most such instances under a single captain in Test history. India set out to change that narrative. But at 211 for 5, they were in a spot of bother. However, a better batting display from the lower middle-order this time, led by Ravindra Jadeja's composed 89 and Sundar’s steady 42, along with Gill’s monumental 269, lifted India to a formidable 587.
With the comfort of a mountain of runs behind him, Mohammed Siraj, carrying the weight of leadership in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, bowled with purpose. His lines were tighter and his lengths accurate, bowling 33.8% of his deliveries at the stumps, a significant leap from the 22.5% he managed at Headingley. On a pitch where Gill made 269 runs with a control percentage of 93.28, Siraj drew 26 false shots in 19.3 overs, finishing with 6-70. A bowler praised for being all heart, showed that he is much more. He was assisted by Akash Deep, who was making a comeback, as the two new-ball bowlers picked all 10 wickets to fall in the innings.
Even as Harry Brook and Jamie Smith threatened briefly, India held steady. They were happy to go on the defensive and wait out the assualt till the second new ball arrived. The mammoth first innings total allowed them to. From 387-5, England were all out for 407, and the lead of 180 shifted the game towards India.
When they returned to bat, they did so with just one aim: to bury England under the sheer weight of runs. Gill broke several records during his sublime 161 while half-centuries from Rishabh Pant and Jadeja allowed India to post a target of 608. The delayed declaration, especially with rain predicted for the last day, brought criticism. Even Brook seemed confused, pointing out the weather forecast to Gill on the fourth afternoon. "Bad luck to us [if weather intervenes]", quipped Gill in response. It was clear. India were playing on the opponent's ego. At an earlier press conference, Brook had confidently stated that England would chase anything. India’s response was simple: chase 600.
Day five was, once more, about the bowlers. The supposed weak link stepped up as Akash Deep took the lead this time. He changed his angles consistently and targeted the cracks, with his dismissal of Brook, who was lbw off a delivery that seamed in massively, getting praise from Stokes. He also became the first Indian quick since Umesh Yadav in 2018 to take a ten-wicket haul in a Test.
In the big chase, Brook flickered briefly, playing 31 balls for 23, while Smith fought with greater resistance, making 88 from 99. There was a short-lived stand from Stokes, but little sign from anyone else of digging in and minimising risk to salvage out a draw. England played out just 68.1 overs in the fourth innings, and a total of 157.4 in the game, much lower than India, who batted 234 overs.
There was laughter from the English camp when No.11 Shoaib Bashir sent a ball sailing for six, a fleeting moment of joy. But while England found humour in the little things, it was India who claimed the larger prize. They had played a deeper game, forcing England into resignation, outwitting their approach that knows how to blaze, but not how to endure.
For India, it was a total team effort. The bowlers stood tall, but only because the batters had first built the stage. The depth India added with Sundar gave Jadeja freedom; the second innings was played without panic because the first had offered security.
In a regime where England’s philosophy of being aggressive without pause, chasing without hesitation, has shaped how pitches are prepared at home and how matches unfold, India recognised the need to shift the battlefield. England’s refusal to back down from their high-octane approach, regardless of conditions or target, has often left oppositions scrambling. But at Edgbaston, India knew it didn’t matter how many bowlers you have, but how many runs you can put on the board.
The move may not work everywhere, on greener pitches or against teams willing to bat long, but in Birmingham, against this England, it made perfect sense.
For a side in transition, this win mattered. Not just because it broke the Edgbaston curse, but because it was shaped by a superior reading of conditions and bruising the opposition's ego. They outscored, outlasted, and, most tellingly, outwitted Bazball, making it one of their most memorable away Test wins ever.
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