India vs England Match Prediction: Who will win the 1st Test?

Ahead of the start of the 2025-27 World Test Championship, England captain Ben Stokes interestingly claimed that his team's primary objective is winning. Before this, Stokes and his men arguably didn't always place an emphasis on the result, instead claiming that their entertaining brand of cricket took precedence over the complicated nature of the WTC points structure.

This mindset shift could be the central theme around England's upcoming Test series clash against India, who are going through a period of transition following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The visitors will be led by Shubman Gill, and at least a new cap or two seem likely over the course of the long rubber.

Things haven't been rosy in recent times for India, who were thrashed at home by New Zealand before conceding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. England, meanwhile, have been one of the better Test sides in the world, even if their last two WTC campaigns haven't been much to write home about.

India's squad for the Test series vs England: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk/vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.

England's playing XI for the first Test vs India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

IND vs ENG 2025: Can the visitors draw first blood?

England & India Net Sessions - Source: Getty

India are inexperienced in the batting department, and there are a number of questions over their ideal combination. Shubman Gill and his men will need to find a way to give themselves enough batting options without compromising on the bowling, and that's easier said than done.

England, meanwhile, have already announced their playing XI. The manner in which they play is abundantly clear, and reports indicate that Leeds - which is usually seamer-friendly - will be much flatter and slower to enable their high rate of shot-making.

More importantly, Stokes knows exactly what his bowling plans are. Always creative and on the lookout for wickets, the England captain will no doubt have the advantage when it comes to planning and execution. Gill, meanwhile, is a new captain stepping into big shoes, and he might take a while to get accustomed to the role.

Given how the venue is expected to play, it's slightly difficult to imagine India starting the series on a high. The conditions are more suited to the hosts' requirements, and they have more bases covered at this point in time.

While India have plenty of exciting talent and can certainly challenge England, Stokes and Co. might be slightly favored by the oddsmakers ahead of this high-profile encounter.

Prediction: England to win the 1st Test vs India.

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Edited by Sai Krishna