After 25 days of captivating, chaotic and at times combative Test cricket, there was simply no separating India and England at the end of it all. It was emblematic of the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as a whole that, even in the dying moments of the final match at The Oval, there was no knowing whether the series was destined to finish 2-1, 3-1, or – as it happened – 2-2. It’s a fitting result for a series that is already destined for the annals of cricketing lore – and the best in two decades.
For the best part of the 21st century, every closely contested Test series has found itself – perhaps unfairly at times – compared with the 2005 Ashes series, the true yardstick by which all great Test series are measured. That is of course a testament to the sheer quality of that series – it remains the measure, 20 years since an unfancied English side reverse swung its way to reclaiming the famous urn against an Australian team littered with genuine all-time greats.
Several ingredients made the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy particularly worthy of the comparison.
First, and most critically: evenly matched teams. There’s a very good reason five-Test series are now limited to matches involving India, Australia and England, and it’s not just the IPL: if there’s anything more painful than a one-sided contest, it’s a long one-sided contest.
Both within and across matches, fans were treated to the kinds of twists and turns that can only happen when both sides genuinely believe they are capable of beating the other; indeed, it’s long been said that one of Michael Vaughan’s greatest accomplishments was merely convincing his 2005 side that they were even capable of beating Australia. If a team is never truly in the ascendancy, a gripping contest is almost guaranteed; if India lost the unlosable at Headingley, so too did England manage to butcher what seemed like a sure thing at The Oval. Ind v Eng 2025
And in that sense, the series was a dichotomy in more ways than one; there was an antagonist for every protagonist, a hero for every anti-hero, a reaction to every action.
Look no further than Mohammed Siraj. Siraj was the only fast bowler from either side to toil away in all five Tests, was the last batsman dismissed in India’s heartbreaking defeat at Lords, and was ridiculed for calamitously traipsing over the boundary rope at the Oval to grant what seemed like a series-losing reprieve to a rampaging Harry Brook. And yet, on the final day of the series, Siraj completed his redemption arc, in a career-defining hour of hostile fast-bowling that defied the fatigue that had no doubt transpired. Ind v Eng 2025
On the topic of heroes, Chris Woakes and Rishabh Pant epitomised why they are perhaps the most likeable players on either side, with both players putting their team’s cause first, and their bodies second. While Pant walked out to bat at Old Trafford with a fractured foot, Woakes took to the crease with a dislocated shoulder so painful he could barely even run. That’s not to mention the likes of Stokes, Archer and Bumrah, all of whom also struggled to keep up with the sheer demands of the series.
There were, of course, several flashpoints – a key ingredient, though purists may decry it. Zak Crawley faced an almost maniacal Gill and an irate Bumrah in the dying moments of Day 3 at Lords as the English opener sought to wind down the clock; Stokes stared in disbelief and his charges swarmed as Jadeja and Washington batted into the last hour at Old Trafford to notch up their centuries; and, at the Oval, two of the least likely suspects in Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root came to proverbial blows.
And finally, the cricket itself. It was not perfect, and nor were the two teams at the peaks of their powers, unlike during the 2005 series, which was a veritable technical masterclass by both teams.
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This series, on the other hand, was well and truly from the Bazball era, together with all of its quirks, foibles and occasionally, its downright stupidity. Yet despite all the injudicious reverse lap-sweeps and the countless dropped catches, in between it all lay individual quality.
Yaishasvi Jaiswal bookended his series with centuries in a tough but overwhelmingly positive tour for the 23 year-old. Jadeja and Washington provided a glimpse of the sheer force that India will be in future matches at home, with each of them bowling and batting with complete aplomb. Gill, of course, had a series for the ages. Ind v Eng 2025
Meanwhile, Root became the second-highest Test run-scorer of all time, passing Ricky Ponting, Jacque Kallis and Rahul Dravid in this series alone.
For a series that some – including former England off-spinner Graeme Swann – had billed as a curtain-raiser to the upcoming Ashes series in Australia, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy might just have eclipsed them all.
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