India Tour England Tests 2025: 2–2 Draw in 5-Test Series — Shubman Gill 754 Runs Player of Series India, Harry Brook Player of Series England, Mohammed Siraj 23 Wickets, India Win 5th Test The Oval by 6 Runs

India toured England in June–August 2025 for a 5-match Test series that produced one of the most compelling bilateral series in recent memory, ending in a 2–2 draw with India needing to win the 5th Test at The Oval — winning by just 6 runs — to prevent England from claiming the series. The series was also notable for marking India's first series without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with 25-year-old Shubman Gill captaining India for the first time in a full Test series abroad. Gill's 754 series runs — the highest by any batter in the series — made him an outstanding Player of the Series and confirmed his arrival as India's generational batting leader. 1st Test Leeds Headingley (June 20–24, 2025): England won by 5 wickets in the series opener. India scored 471 in their 1st innings — a competitive total at Headingley — and England replied with 465, a near-parity opening. India's 2nd innings of 364 set England a target of 370; England chased it with 5 wickets remaining at 373/5. The opening Test victory for England under Ben Stokes confirmed their 'Bazball' approach of targeting batting result rather than preservation. 2nd Test Edgbaston Birmingham (July 2–6, 2025): India won by 336 runs in a dominant performance that equalled the series at 1–1. India scored 587 in their 1st innings — a total that demonstrated the quality of Gill's captaincy in building attacking partnerships — and declared their 2nd innings at 427/6. England's 407 in their 1st innings left them following on 180 runs behind; their 2nd innings of 271 was dismissed 336 runs short of India's target. The margin confirmed India's ability to score heavily in English conditions when the pitch suited batting. 3rd Test Lord's (July 10–14, 2025): England won by 22 runs in the closest match of the series, retaking the lead. England scored 387 and 192; India scored 387 (matching England's 1st innings exactly) and 170 in their second — failing by 22 runs to reach the 193 target after losing wickets across the last two days. The Lord's match swung repeatedly, with each innings producing different conditions, before England's bowlers dismissed India in a tense conclusion. 4th Test Manchester Old Trafford (July 23–27, 2025): Match drawn after England posted 669 in a monumental 1st innings batting performance. India scored 358 in their 1st innings — 311 runs behind England — and built 425/4 in their 2nd innings to save the draw. England's 669 was built on Joe Root's consistent 537-run series form and contributions across their batting lineup. The draw left the series at 2–1 to England going into the final Test. 5th Test The Oval (July 31 – August 4, 2025): India won by 6 runs in one of the most dramatic Test finishes in England in recent history. India scored 224 in their 1st innings; England replied with 247, taking a 23-run lead. India's 2nd innings of 396 set England a target of 373. England chased hard — reaching 367 all out, 6 runs short of the winning target — as Mohammed Siraj and India's bowlers took the final wickets under pressure to complete a 6-run win, level the series at 2–2, and prevent England from claiming the series. The 5th Test win was India's most dramatic result in England in decades.

Shubman Gill's 754 Runs: Leading India Into the Post-Kohli Era

Shubman Gill's 754 runs across the 5-Test series — as India's captain in a series where Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were absent — was a historic batting performance that announced him as India's most important batter and cemented his position as the central figure in India's post-veteran era of Test cricket. Gill captained India for the first time in a full overseas Test series in England 2025, shouldering both the tactical leadership role and the batting responsibility that had previously rested with Kohli in English conditions. His 754 series runs placed him as the series' leading run-scorer — ahead of England's Joe Root (537 runs) and Harry Brook (481 runs) — demonstrating an ability to accumulate across English surfaces that few India batters have matched on a consistent basis. In English conditions, where the Dukes ball swings prodigiously in overcast weather and seams on moist surfaces, India's top-order batters have historically struggled across long series. Gill's technique — a solid defensive base, strong on-drive, and the willingness to leave the ball outside off stump — allowed him to play in English conditions as an attacking batter who could also grind when the conditions demanded patience. His captaincy during the series showed tactical acumen: India won the Edgbaston Test by 336 runs — their biggest winning margin in England in decades — and saved the Manchester draw before winning the Oval series-leveller by 6 runs. His 754-run series haul was a landmark for Indian cricket, establishing him as the leading figure India would build their Test batting around for the next decade. The Player of the Series award recognised both his batting contribution and his leadership in a series that required India to win the final Test to secure the draw.

The Oval Thriller: India Win by 6 Runs to Level the Series

The 5th Test at The Oval (July 31 – August 4, 2025) produced one of the most dramatic finishes in English Test cricket in recent history — England falling 6 runs short of their 373 target, bowled out for 367 by Mohammed Siraj and India's bowling attack in a match that decided whether India won, drew, or lost the series. England entered The Oval leading 2–1 needing only a draw to win the series; India needed to win. The match developed along lines that suggested England might achieve their draw: India's 1st innings of 224 was modest, and England's 247 gave them a 23-run lead. India's 2nd innings of 396 — building on contributions across the middle order — set England a target of 373 with enough time remaining to make the chase achievable for England's 'Bazball' approach. England chased with intent throughout. They reached various stages of their chase — 100, 200, 300 — in respectable time, and as the 4th day concluded with England still in the hunt, the match seemed headed for a final-day climax. On the final day, England continued their chase but Siraj's 23-wicket series form manifested again: he and India's support bowlers removed England's lower-middle order in a sequence that saw wickets fall at critical moments. England were eventually bowled out for 367 — 6 runs short of the 373 required — as the last wicket fell to an India bowler who had held on long enough for nerves to decide the outcome. The 6-run win levelled the series 2–2 and confirmed that the 5-match series — played without Kohli and Sharma but with Gill's leadership and Siraj's bowling — had produced competitive, high-quality cricket across all five Tests. Harry Brook (481 runs, Player of the Series for England) and Joe Root (537 runs) were England's most consistent batting performers in a series that neither side could win outright.