India ended their long-standing drought at Edgbaston with a dominant 336-run victory over England, levelling the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 1-1 and marking Shubman Gill’s first win as Test captain.
The star of the show was debutant pacer Akash Deep, who claimed a sensational 6/99 in the second innings, completing a 10-wicket match haul (10/187) — the best-ever figures by an Indian in a Test match in England, surpassing Chetan Sharma’s record of 10/188, also at Birmingham, in 1986.
Clinical with the ball
Coming into the match as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, Akash rose to the occasion on a largely unresponsive pitch. On the final day, delayed by 100 minutes due to rain, he struck early — removing Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in a fiery morning burst.
Brook, who had anchored England’s fightback in the first innings, was trapped lbw by a delivery that jagged back and stayed low — a moment that truly swung momentum India’s way. Washington Sundar then added to England’s woes by removing Ben Stokes on the stroke of lunch with a delivery that drifted and turned to trap the England captain leg-before.
After the break, Jamie Smith, who had scored an unbeaten 184 in the first innings, tried to counter-attack — reaching his fifty and launching two sixes off Washington. But his brave resistance ended when Akash changed pace cleverly, drawing a mistimed pull that was caught in the deep, giving the Bengal pacer his maiden five-for in Test cricket.
There was more to come — Josh Tongue fell to a brilliant one-handed catch by Mohammed Siraj at short mid-wicket, and Brydon Carse handed Akash his sixth wicket by slicing to Gill at cover — sealing a famous win for India with more than a session left in the day.
Earlier in the match
India’s commanding win was set up by their batting might. After opting to bat, they posted 587 in the first innings — led by Shubman Gill’s masterful 269, supported by partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar (42).
In response, England recovered from 84/5 through a record 303-run stand between Harry Brook (158) and *Jamie Smith (184)**, before Siraj (6/70) and Akash cleaned up the tail — bowling England out for 407.
India declared their second innings at 427/6, thanks to another dominant effort from Gill, who scored 161 off 162 balls, and an unbeaten 69 from Jadeja. The hosts were left chasing a mammoth 608 for victory, and crumbled under pressure — bowled out for 271.
Series levelled, ghosts buried
Having lost the Leeds Test from a winning position, India made a strong statement in Birmingham, winning without Bumrah or Kuldeep Yadav, and bouncing back to level the series in style.
The win not only ended India’s winless record at Edgbaston but also marked one of their most comprehensive overseas Test victories.
Brief Scores:
India: 587 & 427/6 decl. in 83 overs (Gill 161, Jadeja 69*; Tongue 2-93, Bashir 2-119)
England: 407 & 271 in 68.1 overs (Smith 88, Stokes 33; Akash Deep 6-99, Siraj 1-28)
Result: India won by 336 runs
Series: Levelled 1-1
