Cricket Kitchen

India lose to England by 5 wickets

June 25, 2025

Kathmandu – England defeated India by 5 wickets in the first Test after opener Ben Duckett scored a century in the second innings.

With this win, the home side has taken a 1–0 lead in the five-match Test series being played under the ongoing World Test Championship cycle (till 2027).

Chasing a target of 371 runs, England completed the chase on the final (fifth) day, Tuesday, with 14 overs to spare and five wickets in hand.

Opener Ben Duckett played a match-winning innings of 149 runs. He shared a 188-run partnership for the first wicket with Zak Crawley, who contributed 65 runs.

Ollie Pope was dismissed for 8 runs. Duckett and Joe Root then added 47 runs for the third wicket. Root remained unbeaten on 53.

Captain Ben Stokes and Root added 49 runs for the fifth wicket. Stokes scored 33 runs. After his dismissal, Root shared an unbeaten 71-run stand with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who remained not out on 44.

For India, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna took 2 wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja claimed 1 wicket.

India had taken a 6-run first-innings lead, and then scored 364 runs in their second innings, setting a massive target of 371 for England.

In India’s second innings, both Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul scored centuries. England had made 465 runs in their first innings.

Earlier, India had posted 471 runs in their first innings, riding on centuries from captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant, and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The second Test will begin on Asar 18 (July 2).