Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy delivers Test cricket classic as records tumble

India and England's rebranded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy produced a gripping 2-month Test series that broke batting records, stirred controversies, and celebrated red-ball legends on both sides.

Friday, June 20, 2025, saw the beginning of a rebranded Test rivalry as India and England kicked off the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Leeds. Fast forward to Sunday, August 4, the gripping five-match series culminates in London. Each Test extended to the final session of the final day, underscoring the razor-thin margins and unrelenting fight.

 

Banter, controversy, and unmatched intensity

  From heated on-field banters to debates over ball changes and even questions raised against umpiring, the series was far from tranquil. Yet, at its core, it was about Test cricket at its best—players pushing their limits, contesting every inch, and rewriting record books along the way.

 

Indian batters set the stage ablaze

 

• India scored 3,809 runs—second only to Australia’s 3,877 in the 1989 Ashes.
• Combined series aggregate was the second-highest ever after 7,221 runs in the 1993 Ashes.
• India registered eight 300+ totals and eight 350+ scores, a new record.
• Hit 470 boundaries—the most by any team in a Test series.
• Notched up 12 individual centuries, India’s highest in any series.
• Five batters scored over 400 runs—achieved only thrice before.
• Gill (754), Rahul, Jadeja each crossed 500 runs—joint-most in any series.
• Gill’s 754 runs: second-highest by a Test captain, beating Gooch’s 752 (1990).
• Jadeja’s 516: highest by an Indian at No. 6 or lower; also six fifty-plus scores.
• Jadeja’s run tally in England at No. 6 or lower (1,131) broke Clive Lloyd’s overseas record.
• Akash Deep’s 66: third-highest by an Indian nightwatchman.
• Jaiswal’s 118 included 94 runs behind square off-side—most since 2003.

 

Root and Brook steal the show for England

 

• Root's 24 Test hundreds in England: most by any batter in one country.
• Overall 39 Test centuries: fourth-highest of all time.
• 13 tons vs India: ties Gavaskar’s tally vs WI; only Bradman (19 vs Eng) has more.
• Brook: Fastest to 10 Test tons in 70 years—just 50 innings.
• Root now has 13 fifty-plus scores in fourth innings—joint-most in Test history.
• Brook’s 91-ball century in the 5th Test: seventh-fastest in a fourth innings.
• 21 centuries in the series: equals 1955 WI-Australia record.
• Nine batters with 400+ runs: a new record for any Test series.
• 19 century partnerships: equals all-time record.
• Root now involved in 85 century stands, behind only Dravid (88) and Tendulkar (86).
• 100 Test tons at The Oval for England—second only to Lord’s (141).

 

Stokes makes history as captain

  Ben Stokes became the first England captain to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test—a fitting landmark in a series full of iconic performances.