1st Test, Day 4: 465 (Pope 106, Brook 99, Bumrah 5-83) & 21-0 trail India 471 & 364 (Rahul 137, Pant 118 | Tongue 3-72) by 350 runs with 10 wickets remaining
HEADINGLEY — Ben Stokes has been clear from the very outset of his captaincy.
This England team “don’t do draws” and this captivating first Test against India will end in a positive result unless the Leeds weather intervenes on the final day.
Ever since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces in the summer of 2022, Bazball’s calling card has been the audacious nature of their run chases.
In total, 11 of 17 have been won during their time, including 11 of 14 outside of Asia, where dodgy pitches and the skill of the home spinners has seen England defeated three times in the past 18 months in India and Pakistan.
Josh Tongue took THREE wickets in FOUR deliveries pic.twitter.com/jRE58ZR2mp
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 23, 2025On truer surfaces, though, opposition captains have found Bazball almost unplayable when attempting to defend a target.
India’s best hope of defending theirs of 371 here will be Jasprit Bumrah, the best fast bowler in the world and the only man who can surely deny England another famous win.
Bumrah, though, knows better than most the danger that lies ahead for his team on the final day given he was captain when Stokes’s men knocked off a target of 378 with ludicrous ease at Edgbaston in that very first summer of Bazball three years ago.
Shubman Gill, taking charge of his first Test, is now leading the team.
But there is absolutely no doubt India have been psyched out by that mauling in Birmingham in 2022, when England pulled off their highest-ever Test chase in just 76.4 overs and with seven wickets to spare.
Heading into the final day at Headingley, the Bazballers will have 90 overs to get the 350 more runs needed to strike another psychological blow on the Indians after openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got through six overs at the end of day four without losing a wicket.
With the prospect of facing Bumrah and a new ball at the end of a long day, England will be relieved they didn’t have to bat for a longer period.
square CRICKET Sport AnalysisEngland's chief wind-up merchant had better get used to being a target
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India chewed up 5.2 overs at the end of their second innings for the addition of just 15 runs.
But for a collapse of 6 for 31, it is likely they would have batted on into the fifth day, such is their fear of England’s uninhibited attitude towards risk.
In 36 Tests, the Bazballers have drawn just one and even that was because of the Manchester rain that denied them a famous Ashes victory in 2023.
This is why despite all the criticisms from some, the Bazball brand is so valuable.
It scrambles the brains of rival captains even when their teams are in a position of dominance as India were for most of this fourth day.
Jonny Bairstow was the destroyer in that storied match at Edgbaston three years ago, scoring centuries in both innings.
He is no longer in the team but in Stokes, England have a miracle maker whose favourite stage of all is this patch of hallowed turf in Leeds.
His ridiculous unbeaten 135 that somehow saw England chase down 359 to pull off the Miracle of Headingley during the 2019 Ashes pre-dates the Bazball era.
Yet it is a knock that illustrates just what a good chasing ground this is, with the lightning-quick outfield and true pitch making this place a captain’s nightmare when the opposition batters get going.
Make no mistake, England will not attempt to bat out a draw come what may.
The only way this opening Test is drawn is if the forecast rain that is set to hit Leeds eats up a significant chunk of the final day.
But with the outlook brightening up, we should be afforded another blockbuster Bazball finish.
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