Record-Breaking feats and firsts: Unique stats from England vs India 2025 Test series

The Anderson-Tendulkar Test series started on June 20 and continued up to August 4. After a month's hard work, struggle, thrill, and excitement, the conclusion of the Test series was no less than magic. 

England needed just seven runs to seal the match and the series, while India needed just a wicket. Mohammed Siraj's mindblowing spell and the fantastic delivery to dismiss Gus Atkinson will be etched in the memories forever. 

On the other hand, England had a blast too. They won two matches with an inexperienced team, and gave a tough fight in the last match as well. Like how Rishabh Pant walked in to bat with a broken foot, England's pacer Chris Woakes showed a similar courage by walking into the middle with a broken shoulder. 

Even though he didn't bat, standing there and running between the wickets spoke way too much for himself. There are many unique records and stats that were achieved in this Test series. Hence, in the article below, we will talk about all of them. 

1. Most runs in a 5-match Test series - 7187 runs

England and India must be proud of how well their batters performed throughout the series. Thanks to the half-centuries and centuries from the players from both teams, a total of 7187 runs were scored in the Tests, which is by far the highest runs in the history of a 5-match series in red-ball cricket. Players like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and many more have multiple centuries in the series. This is a huge achievement for the teams as their names are etched in the history books. 

2. India win by the narrowest margin - 6 runs

Defending a target of 374 runs in Test cricket isn't a huge deal, especially when your opponent is England. No score is too much for them, and we watched them chase high scores easily in the first Test as well. However, the 5th Test will remain closer to India's hearts because they won by the narrowest margin of just six runs. Well, that's not it. They defended 35 runs on the last day when England had one specialist batter in the form of Jamie Smith on the crease. Despite having everything under control, the hosts took just 56 minutes to lose four wickets and handed over the match to India. 

3. First innings margins under 30 Runs

Only four Test series in the history of red-ball cricket have featured three matches where the first innings totals of both teams were separated by less than 30 runs. The England vs India Test series joined this elite list, showcasing just how fiercely competitive it was. Moreover, in the third Test, both sides finished with identical first innings scores of 387, a statistical rarity that has occurred only nine times in men's Test cricket. Interestingly, the same two teams also produced matching first innings totals of 390 in a 1986 Test at Edgbaston, underlining a unique historical symmetry.

4. Total number of bowled dismissals - 45

This is an interesting stat. In five Test matches, there were a total of 45 bowled dismissals by the bowlers. This is the most in any men's Test series since 1984, and the most in a series held in England since 1976. Now it feels like the series is all about the history books and how each and every record is quite unique. Another interesting fact is that, despite playing just three matches, Jasprit Bumrah has ten bowled dismissals under his name. The player is just magical in his own way, and we saw that in the series. However, whenever anyone remembers any bowled dismissals, Mohammed Siraj's last delivery of the series will surely come to mind. 

5. Total number of days played - 25

All cricket fans know that these days, Test matches don't go until the last day, that is, the fifth day. However, the Anderson-Tendulkar series was different. The weather in the fifth Test played an important role in setting up this feat. All five matches in the series have been played till the fifth day. This has happened for the first time since the 2017/18 Ashes in Australia, where England lost 4-0. Moreover, it is only the fourth time in this century a 5-match Test series has seen all the five games go to five days. The other two were the England tour of South Africa in 2004/05 and the South Africa tour of the West Indies in 2001.