The fight for the final frontier is over for team India. South Africa has won the test series by 2-1 despite a big loss in the first test. The dream to win a test series in South Africa is still a dream. As per pundits, this was India's biggest chance to crack the South African code. They went as the No.1 Test side in the world. Moreover, the African team had their own problems too. Perhaps, this African team was considered to be one of the weakest ever South African test teams. But, what was the reason behind India's failure? Did we get to see anything new from the new head coach Rahul Dravid in the SAvIND test series? We dive deep into that.

Rahul Dravid came in as India's Head coach with lots of reputation. His stint with Rajasthan Royals, U-19 and India A team had already earned him the name "Rahul Sir". Even when Ravi Shashtri was the Head coach of the team, many wanted Dravid to be the head sir of the dressing room of Indian cricket. Was this all overhyped?

As quoted by many cricket legends, to have success with big teams like India, you have to be more of a man-manager than a coach. Even Sunil Gavaskar had said, at the international level you need less coaching skill but more of man managing skill. Now, the question is, was the coach Rahul Dravid ready to be the man manager team India team needed? The time will answer.

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Always calm and calculated Rahul Dravid did manage to hide his team players from the press conference and answered all the bouncers from the media. He ducked that well. Although, he could not manage to get the result that was expected. Perhaps, a misplanned tour? Or, team management thought we can roll over this South African team by doing anything we want in the SAvIND Test series.

Question arises. Fans ask how more chances do Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara need? Perhaps, the question was how much Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari would have to wait to get a long run. The answer was, "we want to give more chances than they deserve, we are a team like that". That was no different from what Ravi Shastri's management did earlier. Although, changes were expected from Rahul Dravid. Ajinkya Rahane averages 24.08 in tests since 2020. Meanwhile, Pujara averages 26.29 in his last 20 test matches.

Read Also: ICC U-19 World Cup: 6 players who went on to become future stars after World Cup

6 batters or 7? Team India could not clear the confusion between that and the series was over meantime. The planning from the bowlers to get 10 wickets in the last inning lacked too. Although, that use to be the main force of team Virat.

KL Rahul the future captain? We knew Rahane will not be made the Vice-captain again (after he was dropped from the position) as India looks towards the future. Maybe an 84-test match old Ravichandran Ashwin might have been a better option. However, team management may not be sure enough that Ashwin would play every test in future if Ravindra Jadeja is fit. A gamble was taken with Rahul? Yes, which did not go well in the second test of the SAvIND series.

Taking everything aside is there anything to take away from Dravid's first away test series as head coach? Perhaps, there were some. Rahul Dravid's calm mind did not let any outside "noise" disturb the team's environment. Other than that? It feels like we are still in the Ravi Shastri era with Rahul Dravid as pilot of the ship.

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for the first Test of the five-match series against India. The ENG vs IND five-match Test series is starting from June 20. The first match will be played at Headingley on June 20, 2025.

Also Read: Youngest Cricketers to lead India in Tests

Overton replaces Atkinson

Fast bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton has returned. He has been included in the team in place of injured Gus Atkinson. Jamie has returned after the match against New Zealand in June 2022.

Atkinson was unavailable for selection due to a right hamstring injury suffered during the Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

Carse, Woakes included in the squad

Fast bowlers Brydon Carse, Jacob Bethell and Chris Woakes have also been named in the squad, who last played during the New Zealand Test tour in December. The India A side are already in the United Kingdom, playing warm-up games against England Lions.

Woakes, known for his effectiveness in home conditions, especially at Lord’s, last featured prominently in 2018 against India, where he claimed four wickets and smashed an unbeaten 137.

Young spinner Shoaib Bashir, who starred with nine wickets against Zimbabwe, retains his spot as the lone specialist spinner. IPL winner Jacob Bethell and seamer Sam Cook, both of whom impressed recently, have also earned call-ups.

Ben Stokes to lead the team

England will field a significantly altered team compared to the last time they faced India in early 2024. James Anderson has since retired, while Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson are the other notable absentees from the squad.

Ben Stokes, who returned from a hamstring injury in that Zimbabwe Test, will lead England against India in a five-match series that marks the start of both teams’ campaigns in the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Also Read: Most runs vs England in England for India in tests

ENG vs IND Test Series Schedule

• 20-24 June 2025 - 1st Test, Headingley
• 2-6 July 2025 - 2nd Test, Edgbaston
• 10-14 July 2025 - Third Test, Lord's
• 23-27 July 2025 - Fourth Test, Emirates Old Trafford
• 31 July-4 August 2025 - Fifth Test, Kia Oval

ENG vs IND | England full squad

Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

In Test cricket, captaincy is often associated with experience and seasoned wisdom, which matters in the long format. However, young talents step up early and prove how they are worthy of leadership.

With Shubman Gill stepping up as the new test captain for India, let's take a moment to celebrate the youngest cricketers to lead India in tests.

Here we bring you the five youngest cricket to ever represent India in tests as a captain.

5. Shubman Gill (25 years 285 days) | 2025

The newest name to join this list of young Indian test captains is Shubman Gill. At the age of 25 years and 285 days, Gill became the 37th test captain of India, and is set to lead in the longest format of the game.

The Indian team will play under Gill's captaincy with the commencement of five-match test series against England on June 20, 2025. This was a major change in the test squad after the former captain, Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli, announced retirement from tests.

Gill made his test debut against Australia in December 2020, and scored 1893 runs, with 5 centuries and 7 fifties so far. With this new turnaround in his career, he became the 5th youngest cricketer to lead India in tests.

Read Also: Every Test Captain of Indian Men's Test Cricket Team

4. Ravi Shastri (25 years 229 days) | 1988

A prominent all-rounder and later a successful coach for the Indian team, Ravi Shastri also briefly held the reins of Test captaincy. He took on the role at the age of 25 years and 229 days, when he led India against West Indies on January 11, 1988.

His captaincy tenure was limited to a single match, but it was a memorable one, as India secured a victory by 255 runs. Shastri scored 3830 runs and took 151 wickets in his test career, that spanned from 1981 to 1992.

3. Kapil Dev (24 years 48 days) | 1983

The legendary all-rounder, Kapil Dev stepped into test captaincy for India at the age of 24 years and 48 days. His first match as a captain was against West Indies on February 23, 1983.

Dev captained India in 34 matches and proved how he was worthy of the position with true leadership skills at such young age. He took 434 wickets and scored 5248 runs in his test career (1978-1994).

He is still the youngest captain to win the World Cup for any team, and comes third in the list for youngest cricketers to lead India in tests.

Read Also: Most successful Test captains from India

2. Sachin Tendulkar (23 years 169 days) | 1996

One of the greatest batsmen of all time, Sachin Tendulkar also had his tenure as the test captain of India at the age of 23 years and 169 days. He first took on the captaincy to lead India in a match against Australia, in 1996.

Tendulkar's captaincy journey had two phases, with him leading in 25 matches. He had an incredible test career with 15921 runs in 200 matches, which is still the highest by any batter in the world!

Read Also: 16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium

1. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years 77 days) | 1962

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi remains India's youngest ever test captain, having taken the role at the age of just 21 years and 77 days! He was famously known as 'Tiger' Pataudi in the field of cricket.

He captained India in 40 matches out of his 46-match test career. Despite losing his right eye in an accident early in his career, he continued to play and lead with brilliant skills and courage.

Pataudi scored 2793 runs, smashing 6 centuries and 16 half-centuries in his test career (1961-1975).

India A started their England tour on a great note with a solid Day 1 display against the England Lions in Canterbury. Karun Nair headlined the day with a solid, unbeaten 186 with the bat for India A.

England Lions captain James Rew won the toss and decided to bowl first on a greenish pitch at the St. Lawrence Ground. 

India A lost captain Abhimanyu Easwaran early on 8 while Yashasvi Jaiswal went back to the dressing room after adding 24. 

When it looked like that, Rew took the right decision of bowling first, Sarfaraz Khan and Karun Nair put up a 181-run partnership for the third wicket to give India A the advantage after Day 1’s play. 

Karun Nair, who last played a test match in 2017, continued his great form and completed his fifty in 85 balls. 

Soon, Sarfraz Khan, who was dropped from the test squad, completed his fifty in 84 balls as well. When both batters were looking to get to the hundred mark first, Sarfraz was caught down the leg side on 92 off 119 balls and missed his ton.

Sarfaraz Khan gets dismissed 8 short of a well-deserved hundred.

Sarfaraz was looking good but was eventually caught down the leg side on 92.

Karun Nair is batting on 97!

India A 233/3 in the first inning!#ENGAvINDA #SarfarazKhan pic.twitter.com/pY7pCRmwZP

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) May 30, 2025

Nair, who was dropped on 89 off Ajeet Singh Dale, completed his 24th first-class ton off 155 balls.

Post that, incoming batter Dhruv Jurel and Nair started smashing the bowlers and changed their gears. Nair reached the landmark of 150 in 205 balls while Jurel reached his fifty in just 68 balls.

At the end of Day 1 of the 4-day unofficial test match, Jurel remained unbeaten on 82 off 104 balls while Nair remained unbeaten on 186 from 246 balls, with India A finishing with 409/3. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has produced some of the most thrilling matches in cricket history, with some teams successfully chasing down mammoth targets to win games. Rajasthan Royals were the first team to chase down a 200-plus total when they scored 217/7 in 19.5 overs to overcome Deccan Chargers’ 214/5 in the IPL 2008. It was only the ninth match of the league. Over the course of the next 12 years, a lot of sides chased down totals over 200+, but none came anywhere close to scaling what RR achieved in 2008.

That record stood for a solid 12 years before the Royals eclipsed it again in IPL 2020 when they hunted down Kings XI Punjab’s 223/2 with 226/6. The mark stood for five years. Currently, Punjab Kings hold the record for the highest successful run chases in IPL history.

Here is a list of the Highest Successful Run Chases in IPL History.

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Highest Successful Run Chases in IPL History

1. Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2024) | 262 Runs

Punjab Kings hold the record for the highest successful run chases in IPL history. PBKS successfully chased down a target of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2024. Tasked with chasing down a daunting target of 262 in front of a vociferous away crowd in Kolkata, PBKS had their task cut out for them. However, the Punjab team defied all odds.

Player of the Match Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten 48-ball 108, while Shashank scored an unbeaten 68 off 28 balls as Punjab pulled off the greatest run chase in IPL history.

In fact, Punjab Kings’ successful run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders is the only time a team has chased down a score of 250 or more in IPL history. It is also the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket as a whole.

2. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings (2025) | 246 Runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad are second on the list of highest successful run chases in IPL history and coincidentally, it came against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025. After PBKS posted 245/6 in the first innings, SRH chased down the target by reaching 247/2 in 18.3 overs with Abhishek Sharma playing a starring role with a 55-ball 141. Abhishek hit a 40-ball century, making it one of the fastest in IPL history.

Punjab started strong with an explosive opening stand from Prabhsimran Singh and young Priyansh Arya. The two added 66 runs in just 24 balls, giving the team a perfect start. After Prabhsimran fell for 42, captain Shreyas Iyer took charge, smashing a half-century in just 22 balls. Nehal Wadhera supported him well, and the Kings crossed 150 runs within 12 overs.

The strong foundation was capped off in style by Marcus Stoinis, who cleared the ropes four times in the closing overs, helping Punjab finish at 245, their highest total of the season so far and a testament to the batting unit’s depth and intent. But Sunrisers Hyderabad responded with a brilliant opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Their 171-run stand helped them chase down the target successfully.

3. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants (2025) | 228 Runs

Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma's unbeaten 85 led RCB to chase down 228 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. After the win, they sealed a top-two finish in the very last league game of IPL 2025. This is also RCB's highest-ever successful chase in IPL history and they will now play in Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings. Records galore for RCB don't stop there, as they have ended up winning all 7 away games in the regular season, which is just remarkable.

The chase saw significant contributions from Virat Kohli and Phil Salt in the powerplay, followed by Jitesh Sharma and Mayank Agarwal's unbeaten partnership. Agarwal scored 41 not out to support Sharma's match-winning innings.

Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants posted a formidable 227/3, powered by captain Rishabh Pant's spectacular 118.

4. Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings (2020) | 224 Runs

A collective effort by Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Rahul Tewatia led the Rajasthan Royals to chase down a target of 224 runs against Punjab Kings in 2020, the highest successful run chase in IPL history. Samson was the top-scorer with an explosive 85 off just 42 deliveries but Rahul Tewatia became the centre of attraction because of his massive 7 sixes in the important moment. He smashed 5 sixes in an over against Sheldon Cottrell which changed the whole game.

5. Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2024) | 224 Runs

Rajasthan Royals equalled the highest successful run chase in the IPL recorded by them in 2020, when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. In a battle for the position at the top of the IPL 2024 standings, KKR managed 223/6 on the back of Sunil Narine’s maiden T20 century. For the Royals, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Sen took two wickets each. 

In the run chase, Jos Buttler stood tall with an unbeaten 107 off just 60 balls, steering his team over the line on the last ball. The Royals were on the backfoot at 121/6 in the 13th over. But a cameo from Rovman Powell and some late power-hitting from Buttler got the Royals home.

Interestingly, Punjab Kings surpassed this record 10 days later against the same opponent at the same venue, when they successfully chased 262.

6. Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings (2021) | 219 Runs

Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning 4-wicket victory over their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in a match in 2021. Ambati Raydu & Faf du Plessis played blistering innings to put up that mammoth total at Delhi.

Chasing down the target of 219 runs, Mi didn't have a good start. Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 87 from 34 balls, including 6 boundaries and 8 sixes, played the most pivotal role in securing the win. He was also the best bowler for Mumbai in that match. Pollard conceded only 12 runs in his 2 overs and scalped 2 huge wickets.

7. Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers (2008) | 215 Runs

In the inaugural IPL edition, Rajasthan Royals chased a massive target of 215 runs against Deccan Chargers. Andrew Symonds' explosive 117 runs in just 53 deliveries helped Deccan Chargers to put up a huge total of 214 runs.

While Chasing, Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan laid the foundation with a 98-run partnership. The explosive knocks from Mohammad Kaif and Shane Warne at the end took Rajasthan to achieve victory.

Read Also: 5 batters with the most runs in IPL playoffs history

8. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals (2023) | 215 Runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad stunned Rajasthan Royals at their home to clinch a high-scoring last-ball IPL thriller. Leveraging on a crucial last-ball no-ball from Sandeep Sharma, Sunrisers snatched the cliffhanger to register for their fourth win of the season. With 17 needed off the final over and 4 needed off the final ball, power-hitter Abdul Samad smashed a six off the last ball to help Sunrisers register a memorable win.

The foundation of the chase was laid by top-order batters Abhishek Sharma (55) and Rahul Tripathi (47) but it was the Glenn Phillips 7-ball 25 cameo that turned the game on its head and reignited the chase.

9. Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings (2023) | 215 Runs

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Kumar produced a superb effort with the bat as Mumbai Indians completed a gigantic 215-run chase against Punjab Kings and won the match by six wickets in Mohali on Wednesday. The pair added 116 runs for the third wicket after Mumbai were 54/2 in the powerplay.

Ishan Kishan scored 75 in 41 balls. Tilak Varma and Tim David joined the chase and wrapped the contest in 18.5 overs with no issues.

10. Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings (2024) | 215 Runs

Brushing aside the first-ball dismissal of the explosive Travis Head, his opening partner Abhishek Sharma showcased an amazing range of stroke-play to ensure Sunrisers Hyderabad finished off its league engagements in the IPL in style with a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings.

Chasing a target of 215, Sunrisers batting depth came to the fore as first Rahul Tripathi set the tone before Abhishek served another reminder of his growing stature as a future India star. The way he stood up and swung Rishi Dhawan and later carted spinner Harpreet Brar for two huge sixes was truly symbolic of his authority, class and timing against pace and spin alike.

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen came up with superbly-paced knocks to help the team’s cause on yet another perfect batting strip here.

For any touring cricket team, England presents an unique challenge in Test cricket. It's a land where even most skilled players can struggle.

Far away from home, Indian cricketers have sincerely accepted this challenge and given a tough fight for many years. Discover which batting legends have mastered the game and scored the most runs vs England in England for India in tests.

1. Sachin Tendulkar | 1575 Runs

The 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar holds the unmatched record for most runs vs England in England for India in tests. He scored 1575 runs in 17 matches (30 innings) with an average above 54.

Tendulkar dominated the English soil with 4 hundreds and 8 fifties in his test career.

Read Also: Sachin vs Kohli: Stats Comparison in Test Cricket

Tendulkar stats vs England in England

2. Rahul Dravid | 1376 Runs

Rahul Dravid is another big name when it comes to legendary test batsmen from India. He holds impressive record against England which is hard to match in the long run for young Indian batters of the coming age.

Dravid scored 1376 runs in 13 matches, with his highest being a phenomenal 217 runs during India tour of England in 2002.

Dravid stats vs England in England

3. Sunil Gavaskar | 1152 Runs

Sunil Gavaskar is the third Indian batter to cross the 1000-run mark against England in England. The 'Little Master' scored 1152 runs in 16 matches during his Test career.

He scored 221 runs in 1979, which is the highest score ever by an Indian batsman against England in their own soil.

Gavaskar stats vs England in England

4. Virat Kohli | 976 Runs

Here comes the most successful Test captain of India, Virat Kohli, securing the fourth position in this list. He surpassed many legendary test batters with his brilliant record against England in their home soil.

Kohli scored 976 runs in 15 matches, with 2 centuries and 5 fifties to his name. The numbers could soar higher if he had not retired from tests at the age of 36, in 2025.

Read Also: The Kohli Effect: Will Indian fans lose interest in Test cricket after Virat Kohli's retirement?

Kohli stats vs England in England

5. Dilip Vengsarkar | 960 Runs

Dilip Vengsarkar is a gem of a player in the history of Indian Test cricket. He scored 960 runs in 13 matches (23 innings), with 157 being his highest score.

Vengsarkar scored 4 hundreds and 4 fifties during his tenure.

Vengsarkar stats vs England in England

6. Sourav Ganguly | 915 Runs

Another successful captain in the history of Indian Test cricket, Sourav Ganguly, makes his way to the sixth rank in the list. He started his career with an iconic ton against England in 1996.

Ganguly scored a total of 915 runs in 9 matches (15 innings) vs England in England with an average above 65.

Read Also: Most successful Test captains from India

Ganguly stats vs England in England 

7. Gundappa Viswanath | 858 Runs

Gundappa Viswanath played a major role for India in Tests back in the 1970s. He scored 858 runs in 13 matches against England in England, with an average of 39.

Viswanath stats vs England in England 

8. Cheteshwar Pujara | 806 Runs

Cheteshwar Pujara's journey as a test batsman in the English soil was short-lived but great. He scored 806 runs in 14 matches, having one century and 5 fifties to his name.

Pujara stats vs England in England 

9. MS Dhoni | 778 Runs

Apart from excellent captaincy records, MS Dhoni also holds the ninth position for most runs vs England in England for India in tests. He scored 778 runs in 12 matches (23 innings).

Read Also: 16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium

Dhoni stats vs England in England

10. Ajinkya Rahane | 665 Runs

Ajinkya Rahane is the tenth name in the elite list for most runs vs England in England for India in tests. He scored 665 runs in 14 matches, with a classy century and 5 half centuries to his name.

Rahane stats vs England in England