After successfully chasing down 371 points, the hosts won their sixth straight Test match on this field.
Centurion Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley’s 188-run opening partnership on Day 5 was the driving force behind the victory.
The first episode of the series contained many unexpected developments.
These are the main conclusions.
A Thriller at Lord’s: Pant’s Brilliance, Twin Collapses & England’s Fightback
An inexperienced Indian line-up, put in to bat first, posted a formidable 471 in the first innings. The trio of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant slammed memorable centuries to set the tone.
England responded in style with 465 runs, thanks to a resolute 106 from Ollie Pope and a fine effort by Harry Brook. However, it was Jasprit Bumrah who shone with the ball, claiming a fifer (5 wickets) to keep India in the hunt.
In the second innings, India notched up 364 runs, with KL Rahul and Pant once again taking center stage with their centuries. But the innings was marred by a sharp collapse, reminiscent of their first outing.
England were tasked with chasing 371 runs, and what followed was a chase full of drama and momentum swings.
Pant’s Bravado Stuns England
Perhaps the biggest takeaway of the match was Rishabh Pant’s audacious batting. The wicketkeeper-batter dismantled England’s bowling attack with scores of 134 and 118, becoming only the seventh Indian to score centuries in both innings of a Test.
More notably, Pant became the first Indian to achieve this rare feat on English soil. His fearless approach and attacking strokeplay revived memories of his past heroics, including his iconic somersault celebration in Leeds.
Twin Collapses Haunt India
Despite the dominance of the top-order, India suffered middle-order collapses in both innings.
In the second innings, India slid from 287/4 to 364 all-out, while in the first innings they went from 430/3 to 471 all-out.
According to Cricbuzz, the 656-run difference between India’s top five (721 runs) and bottom six (65 runs) is the highest ever for India in a Test match — a statistic that underlines the stark contrast in contributions.
Gill Shines in First Test as Captain
Taking over from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill made his captaincy debut with maturity and poise.
At 25 years and 285 days, he became the youngest Indian captain to score 50+ in their debut Test as captain. He also led a relatively new batting line-up with confidence and composure.
However, not everything went right under his leadership — all six reviews taken by India under Gill’s command were unsuccessful.
Jaiswal’s Fielding Woes
India’s fielding effort was sub-par throughout the match, and Yashasvi Jaiswal had a forgettable time in particular.
He dropped four catches, the most by any Indian in a single Test. Three of those came in the first innings, giving lifelines to Duckett (twice), Pope, and Brook.
These lapses proved costly as England capitalized on the chances and kept themselves alive in the contest.