England’s Harry Brook played a part with his chatter when he distracted India’s last man Prasidh Krishna to try an audacious shot which led to visitors being bowled out for 364 runs in their second innings on Monday, establishing a lead of 370 runs at Leeds.
Prasidh was in the middle when the stump mic picked up Brook asking the Indian bowler,” Can you hit big sixes?” to which Krishna replied,” If I had to, I would be called Brook.”
In the very next ball, Prasidh went for a big hoick off Shoaib Bashir only to hole out to Josh Tongue with Brook’s plans to distract the Indian working to a tee.
“Can you hit big sixes?” — Harry Brook on the stump mic… and Prasidh goes for it on the very next ball and gets out.
Classic Test cricket theatre — brought to you by the mic (and a bit of mischief). 🎭#ENGvIND | 1st Test, Day 5 | TUE, 24th JUNE, 2:30 PM on JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/Bgwq5D3PiB
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 24, 2025
On Monday, another India lower-order collapse gave England a fighting chance of a thrilling victory in the first test at Headingley on Monday, with the hosts 21-0 in their second innings at the close of play on day four, chasing 371 to win.
Josh Tongue, just as he did in the first innings, came to the fore when seeing off the Indian tail, with three wickets in four balls helping ensure the tourists lost their final six second-innings wickets for 31 runs.
The collapse, which saw India all out for 364, gave the dangerous Jasprit Bumrah the chance to attack England before close of play, but neither opener, Zak Crawley nor Ben Duckett, looked troubled as they repelled the Indian attack until stumps.
Reaching 371 would be England’s second-highest successful test run chase against India, and the second-highest at Headingley, more than the Ben Stokes-inspired heroics on the same ground against Australia in 2019.
The normally box-office Rishabh Pant started his innings quite conservatively, happy to watch on as KL Rahul moved smoothly to his century, his ninth in tests, eight of which have come overseas.
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After smashing two sixes in three balls after lunch, however, Pant hit the accelerator and brought out his typically flamboyant shots to all corners of the ground, with his hundred meaning, for the first time, that there have been five India centuries scored in one test match.
Pant eventually tried one shot too many, caught chasing another six on the boundary by Crawley for 118 before Rahul fell shortly after tea for 137, again chopping onto the stumps off the bowling of Carse.
(With agency inputs)
