England were in command on 30/1 at tea after bowling West Indies out for 121 on the opening day of the first Test.
Mohammed Siraj has always had this towering shadow of Jasprit Bumrah on him but on an overcast Monday at the Oval, the second-in-command carved a bright silhouette for himself.
Here are the crunch moments that were series-defining and the contributions of the players who came of age during the English summer.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the first Test against England?
England on Sunday named their strongest available squad for the Ashes tour to Australia as all-rounders Ben Stokes and Sam Curran missed out but seamer Stuart Broad was included despite the calf injury he picked up in the Test series against India.
England batting legend Alastair Cook lauded star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah for his magnificent six-wicket haul in the second Test against Three Lions, saying that he changed the course of the game single-handedly and "ripped the heart out of England batting line-up".
While defending totals of 350 or more in 59 Tests, India have won 42, with their sole defeat coming against England at Edgbaston in 2022.
Sunil Gavaskar slams England's 'fake bravado' after Manchester draw
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Monday.
The five-match Test series against India at home will be a massive Test for England's 'Bazball' brand of cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
Post-lunch, Pant brought up his half-century with a single before launching his third maximum, cementing his reputation as one of the game's most fearless stroke-makers in red-ball cricket.
Kuldeep Yadav wrecked England's top order and fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin polished off the tail to bundle out England in just over two sessions.
The tourists had risked a defeat inside three days after India, having built a lead of 190, reduced England to 163-5 in their second innings in the second session of the day.
England must win the fourth Test in Manchester to keep the series alive ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval in London.
England captain Ben Stokes will play in The Hundred this year after the conclusion of England's test series with West Indies.
The opening batter felt the surface is a lot better than the turner in Hyderabad and it was just the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah that made the difference.
Fired-up England reduced India to 58/4 chasing 193 for victory in a highly-charged final session on day four on Sunday as a gripping third Test at Lord's.
England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
After India captain Shubman Gill had scored another masterful century at Edgbaston, India fast bowlers Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj blew away England's top order.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was "disappointed" on missing a century by a whisker, but amazed by Test captain Shubman Gill's "incredible" effort that powered India to a comfortable position at the end of the opening day of the second Test against England, at Edgbaston, on Wednesday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal wanted to be more consistent on his first tour of England but drew immense satisfaction from his second-innings ton on a "spicy" pitch at The Oval to help India set a massive 374-run target in the fifth Test.
Fast bowlers Lutho Sipamla and Hardus Vijoen ripped through the Sunrisers Eastern Cape batting line-up to power Joburg Super Kings to a dominant nine-wicket bonus point victory.
Joe Root was at the center of an unexpected on-field spat with India's Prasidh Krishna, as tempers flared during a high-stakes second day at The Oval.
Jadeja consolidates as world No 1 Test all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma is top ranked T20I batter
Having conceded a lead of 259, England were all out for 195 in the second session on day three of the contest.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape came up with a clinical performance with both bat and ball to register a 58-run bonus victory over Durban Super Giants in the SA20 match at Kingsmead.
England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, with pacer Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad.
India finished Day 3 on 90/2 to lead England by 96 runs at stumps in the opening Test on Sunday after England were dismissed for 465 in the first innings.
He has taken nine five-wicket hauls in SENA conditions.
The five-match Test series against India at home is a massive test for England's 'Bazball' brand of cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
India equal England's first-innings score of 387 with Test in balance
'The wicket was good to bat on, a lot of the batters got starts but didn't convert. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Very proud of such a young squad.'
Woakes returned to the test squad for the first time since July 2023 in what will be England pace great James Anderson's farewell series.
'I told Jassi bhai, If I take five wickets, who should I hug?'
'We want pace on the ball, we want the ball to bounce and we want the ball to carry through so that when we're batting, we can be aggressive, we can attack, and we can put pressure back on the bowlers.'
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
Zak Crawley said England's upcoming tour to India in January-March 2024 presents them with an 'amazing opportunity' to showcase 'Bazball'.
'His hands are quite sore. We want to get his confidence back up.'
England spinner Rehan Ahmed has been added to the Ashes squad for the second Test against Australia.
