England secured a five-wicket victory over India in the opening Test of the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series at Headingley in Leeds this Tuesday. This match will be remembered not just for England’s win, but for a remarkable and unfortunate milestone achieved by the Indian side.
In a never-before-seen occurrence in Test cricket history, India became the first team to have five individual centuries in a single match and still end up on the losing side. This surpasses the previous record of four centuries in a losing effort, which was set by Australia against England during the iconic 1928/29 Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Furthermore, India’s combined total of 835 runs at Headingley now stands as the fourth-highest score by a team that ultimately lost a Test match. The top spot on this list remains with England, who scored 861 runs against Australia at Headingley in 1948 but still suffered a defeat. This is followed by Pakistan’s 847 against England in Rawalpindi (2022) and New Zealand’s 837 against England at Trent Bridge in 2022. India’s impressive batting display, despite resulting in a loss, certainly etched this match into the record books.
Hopefully things will change in the next test.
