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Pant, Rahul centuries set England 371 to win at Headingley

Published

1 year ago

2025/06/24

Priyan

KL Rahul gets a hug from Rishabh Pant after completing his century (Cricinfo)

England will need 371 to win the first Test at Headingley after India were dismissed for 364 in their second innings late on day four. The hosts will return on Tuesday needing 350 more, after Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett negotiated the first six overs of the chase without alarm to close on 21 for 0.

Only once have India lost when defending a total in excess of 350, but that anomaly within a 59-match sequence came on these shores, against a previous iteration of this England side. Three years ago, during the first summer of Baz and Ben, England broke their own record for a chase, scything down 378 for the loss of just three wickets at Edgbaston.

If successful, the effort at Headingley would be their second highest. But India should have asked more from their opponents. Fine centuries from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant – his second in the match – bossed England for most of the day. But upon Rahul’s dismissal for 137 after Pant had earlier made 118 – his fourth century in England, equalling the record for the most by a wicketkeeper in the country – a familiar collapse ensued.

Having managed just 24 between the last five wickets on day two, the last six on day four managed just 31. From 333 for 4, India were 364 all out in 71 balls, with four balls in succession from Josh Tongue that accounted for three wickets as he lived up to his nickname “The Mop” for a knack of cleaning up lower orders. Having removed Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj back-to-back, Tongue knocked out Jasprit Bumrah’s middle stump. Just as he did in the first innings, a previously wicketless set of figures was polished by India’s lower order, thus eventually finishing with 3 for 72.

Yet again, India failed to take an England win out of the equation, and perhaps most frustrating will be the fact that Rahul and Pant had done all the hard work. Their different approaches to the job at hand were reflected in the 202 and 130 deliveries, respectively, they took to reach three figures. A stand of 195 for the fourth wicket began after skipper Shubman Gill failed to effectively ride the bounce of a steepling ball from Brydon Carse that seamed into the right-hander, and was played on to the base of his own off stump.

It was a typical Rishabh Pant century which included 15 fours and three sixes (Cricinfo)

With Carse on song and Chris Woakes enjoying the favourable conditions following short morning showers prior to the 11am start, India shut up shop, scoring just 63 runs in the first session. The key was just losing the one wicket, though it should have been more.

Rahul was given a life on 58 as Harry Brook, the beneficiary of three lives in his innings of 99, repaid the favour with a drop at gully when Rahul attempted a second consecutive guide to the deep-third boundary off Tongue. And though Pant was not offered a similar gift, he did push his luck with an unnecessarily chaotic start to his innings.

The left-hander charged Woakes and skewed over the cordon off his second ball. He had done exactly the same to get off the mark on his way to 134 in the first innings – advancing at Ben Stokes second ball – but had made far better contact then. Pant then moved to 15 with a mow across the line for a fortuitous boundary down to fine leg that had Shoaib Bashir interested. Three deliveries later, he was subject to a voracious lbw appeal attempting his patented fall-away ramp.

Umpire Paul Reiffel gave it not out, and England’s review proved him right, with an inside edge. But it was enough of a warning for Pant to control himself a little more. His next 16 runs came from 36 deliveries, as he and Rahul managed to get to the break with their stand intact on 61.

Joe Root consoles Harry Brook after he dropped KL Rahul, England vs India, 1st Test, Leeds, 4th day, June 23, 2025

Joe Root consoles Harry Brook after he dropped KL Rahul on 55 (Cricinfo)

Rahul calmed Pant down, who himself knew he was taking things a little too far. What followed was a far more composed and an impressively devastating afternoon from India, as both batters dragged England all over the field and left Stokes unsure who to turn to at certain points.

Rahul was his usual serene self on the drive, unwilling to miss out on anything drivable – particularly as the pitch was starting to show uneven bounce. He wore three blows to the top hand, but used it strongly to push a two through the covers to move to his eighth overseas century. It was his sixth outside of Asia as an opener, with only Sunil Gavaskar ahead of him (15).

Pant’s celebration was similarly subdued by his own standards, remaining upright this time but promising Gavaskar, who was there in the stands, the first innings front-flip would make another appearance soon. His record suggests there will be indeed a next time. Pant accelerated upon passing fifty, taking 44 off 25 deliveries to move to 95.

The journey from there to 100 took 22 balls more, though he made up for lost time by smashing Joe Root for four, six and four in the very next over. An attempt to do the same to Bashir resulted in a catch for Crawley at long-on.

Bashir celebrated like he had won the battle, but he really had not given Pant was aiming for the stand in which he had sent Bashir earlier for back-to-back sixes. Both he and Rahul had just started tucking into the rookie offspinner. Karun Nair then reverse swept Bashir for four, taking himself off a pair and moving India’s lead beyond 300.

By this point, England were naturally keen to slow the game down, and India were not exactly in a hurry. A steady stand of 46 off 77 balls between Rahul and Nair spoke of a lack of real urgency, even if such accumulation at close to four runs an over would work just fine.

The issue, though, was how front-loaded the runs are in this visiting batting card. So when Carse got another to lift to remove Rahul – playing on again, this time on to middle stump – and Nair gifted Woakes a return catch (his first dismissal of the match) in the space of 11 deliveries, suddenly the end of the India innings at least was in sight.

Up stepped Tongue for his second feasting on rabbit pie, before a bit of cat-and-mouse with the final pair as Ravindra Jadeja looked to protect No.11 Prasidh Krishna. Jadeja was doing a good job, and starting to find boundaries; Tongue was flipped to the stands at deep square leg from outside off, before a bumper was pulled fine for four. Alas, Prasidh, tempted by Bashir, lifted high to Tongue at deep midwicket in the very next over to cap India’s lead at 370.

What could have been an awkward 30 minutes for England was anything but, the tension cut by Crawley with back-to-back fours in the fourth over – the second being an airy flash over the slip cordon. There will be plenty more strikes in anger on day five. England, of course, believe they can chase these. Only the weather will prevent them from trying.

Brief scores:

England 465 and 21 for 0 in 6 overs (Zak Crawley 12*, Ben Duckett 9*) need another 350 runs to beat India 471 and 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118; Josh Tongue 3-72, Brydon Carse 3-80)

(Cricinfo)

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Representatives from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce meet PM

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/25

Priyan

Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.

During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.

Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.

The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

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Progress of Housing Project for Malayagam Community families funded by India reviewed

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/25

Priyan

A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.

Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.

Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.

For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.

During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.

The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.

Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.

(PMD)

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Former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s son arrested by CIABOC

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/25

Priyan

It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.