ENG vs IND, 2025: England vs India, 5th Test Match Preview

England (ENG) and India (IND) will lock horns in the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy from Thursday, July 31, to be held at the Kennington Oval in London. The hosts currently lead 2-1 in the series, but the visitors kept their hopes alive to level the series after managing a draw in the previous Test.

The series began with England winning the first Test convincingly in Leeds by five wickets and had a solid start to the series. However, India bounced back in the following Test at Edgbaston to level the series. The third Test at the iconic Lord's turned out to be in England's favour as they scripted a narrow win during the last session of the fifth day. The Manchester Test eventually ended in a draw, thanks to centuries from Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and a 90-run knock from KL Rahul.

With the series moving to its last phase, this match is the Shubman Gill-led team's only chance to level the series. With the team in a must-win situation, they will look to bring out their best once again. Meanwhile, England will be looking to extend their lead and clinch the series convincingly. Notably, the Three Lions have announced their playing XI and made four changes. Captain Ben Stokes was ruled out due to a right shoulder injury. Spinner Liam Dawson and pace bowlers Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse also missed out on the XI. Meanwhile, the side has announced Ollie Pope as the skipper withJacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, ⁠Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue walking in as replacements. 

On the other hand, India faces some selection concerns, with Jasprit Bumrah set to miss the game, and Akash Deep is expected to replace him. According to reports, Arshdeep Singh might make his Test debut, and Kuldeep Yadav is expected to come in for Shardul Thakur.

Match Details

Kennington Oval Pitch Report

The Oval track traditionally favours captains who choose to chase with five Tests since 2021 has seen teams opting to field first, though the success rate is just 40%. Spinners have found success here in recent years, averaging 25, the best for any English venue. While spinners have found brilliance early on Days 1 and 2, pacers dominate Day 3. However, Day 4 tends to favour batters. India’s record at the Oval has been below par with 2 wins, 6 losses, and 7 draws from 15 matches. Their last win came in 2021, beating England by 157 runs. 

ENG vs IND Head-to-Head Record in Tests:

ENG vs IND Probable Playing XIs

England: (Announced)

Playing XI

⁠Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), ⁠Chris Woakes, ⁠Gus Atkinson,⁠ ⁠Jamie Overton, ⁠Josh Tongue

India:

Predicted XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharshan, Shubman Gill (C), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav/Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.