India v England - Lord's - London
10, 11 July 2025

Long post alert! ( 10 min read)

TBH, there is not too much text, but quite a few pictures and a few videos that I have used to storyboard my experience over two days.

As a cricket fan, especially a lover of Test cricket, this was an opportunity I had absolutely always been waiting for. Back in August 2024, when the schedules were announced, my eyes were set on attending at least one of the three Test matches. Lord’s was naturally the top priority, followed by Old Trafford and then The Oval.

Ticket Booking - It IS a process

Australia Cricket’s single-window ticketing system is much easier—booking opens for the entire summer on a specific day in April/May. You get notified if you have signed up, log in and buy the best tickets that you can in one transaction!

For England, however, the process is more fragmented. The stadiums are managed by their respective counties, each with its own booking system. While information is available centrally through the ECB website, I had to sign up individually for MCC (Lord’s), Lancashire (Old Trafford), and Surrey (The Oval) memberships just to be part of their respective “ballots” for a chance to purchase tickets.

I had to pre-select the match days, given the fast pace of Test cricket these days, i usually book the first two days. If selected in the ballot, I would be notified, and the ticket cost would be charged to my card (I used a forex card in GBP).

Lord’s had hiked ticket prices by nearly 60% to cash in on the Indian team’s (read: Virat Kohli’s) popularity—£160 for Day 1 and £90 for Day 2. In contrast, Old Trafford was a relatively reasonable £170 for both days combined!

Surrey’s ballot knocked me out first. Then I was rejected in Lord’s first round as well. I did manage to get tickets for Old Trafford. So, I was just happy that at least i would get to watch some cricket in the English summer. But fate had other plans—about a week later, Lord’s opened a second round of ballots, and this time, I got selected and could purchase tickets. Thankfully, it was easy to resell the Old Trafford tickets (I returned them to the box office and got a full refund).

Travel and Getting to the Game

I had initially booked a direct Air India flight to London. Shortly after the unfortunate incident (you know the one), I made a quick decision to rebook with Qatar Airways, anticipating a possible grounding of Air India’s 787s. It cost a little extra, but I was able to soften the blow using some credit card and frequent flyer points.

I reached London on 9th July afternoon and stayed at a decent Airbnb near Maida Vale Underground Station. St. John’s Wood and Baker Street are the closest stations to Lord’s, but hotels around there are prohibitively expensive. Maida Vale, which is about a 17–20 minute walk to Lord’s North Gate, turned out to be a decent option.

Looking back, 10th through 14th July was one of the hottest weeks recorded in England in a long time. While the heat helped me avoid the usual “British summer” gear (didn’t need the jacket or ponchos I had packed), the blazing sun and humidity made being outdoors quite tough.

Pinch me!

The Experience

I was bright and early outside the Lord's North gate enjoying breakfast which i had picked up, sitting on a wall right opposite, while watching the members snaking through their entrance for them to rush to their preferred seats (yes they do not have reserved seats!). I got into the stadium at about 9:02, easy baggage checks (everything is allowed, including food and limited quantity of drinks!).

The Member's and the Balcony

I took my time to get around the entire stadium. Check out all the toilets, water and food stations and then walked to the MCC museum, where we were stopped for a bit by the ushers. Looking at the photo ready crowd, i knew that i had the wonderful opportunity to see the Indian team getting into Lords. Not many look at the crowds, they just seem focussed at their job (nervous no doubt!). KL Rahul did look at us and of course Mr. Box office, Rishabh Pant was the last to arrive and he was polite and nicely smiling at everyone

Had the chance to see the Indian Team enter - at about 9:15 am

The Indian Team Walking into Lords at 9:15 AM

Right after that, we were allowed into the museum and the first thing you see when you enter is the original Ashes Urn. For a cricket fan, this moment is quite surreal and i was really getting quite overwhelmed with emotions. The Museum itself is a wonderful collection of cricketing memorabilia, showcasing some wonderful moments in the sport, many of which have featured this iconic venue.

THE Ashes Urn

Don Bradman's Bat

Garry Sober's Cap

The Beginning of it all - The Prudential World Cup

Ben Stokes's Boots from the CWC Final 2019

Signed Jumpers of Dravid and Tendulkar and his portrait which was unvieled just 30 mins before

Kohli's Boots, Dhoni's Gloves

Markram and Pat Cummin's jerseys from the WTC 2025 final

Dada's famous Jersey, which he took off at the balcony

It was around 10:15 and time to head to my sea. So off I went to the Compton Upper Stands. The ushers handed out complimentary scorecards, already printed with the team sheets, which was superb!

When Sachin was applauded and the national anthem followed and then Bumrah thundered in for Ball 1, I got truly emotional with gratitude for this wonderful opportunity.

The action soon followed, and by about 11:30, the stadium was completely full. For most of the day, we were treated to a classic session of proper Test cricket—gritty, patient, and full of attrition. Most people were enjoying themselves with friends and family they’d come with, so there was a lot of chatter.

I tuned in to the BBC TMS commentary feed on my phone and stayed focused on the game. The loudest moments often came from champagne bottles being popped, with corks flying high into the air! The Indian fans (like me) really knew their cricket—stats, history, “The Slope,” and everything in between. But overall, as a venue, it felt slightly less pulsating compared to the two days I spent at the MCG in December 2024.

My view from the Compton Upper Stand.

A Dream come true

The Little Master ringing the 5 min Bell on Day 1

The Applause for the Little master - Sachin Tendulkar

Bumrah to Crawley

The First Ball - Jasprit Bumrah to Zak Crawley

Refillable water stations - They were good, but were too slow by the afternoon and caused long lines

The Refillable water stations were good and plenty, but by the afternoon there were long lines ( i stood for almost 40 mins) because the water pressure was too slow, even a 250 ml bottle took about 4 minutes to fill!

The Men's room - cricket doesnt stop!

Looking Back from the Compton stairs at the practice and Indoor arena and hospitality

Fish Eye View - From the Compton Upper Tier

Lower Deck of the Compton Stand - Under the shade, just walked up before Pope got out

It was HOT day, but my seat, right up at the top of Compton was just the 5% of the stand which was under cover, when the sun was blazing at about 5:30 PM. That said, it was still humid and almost zero breeze, so staying cool and hydrated was essential. The Day ended with Joe Root on 99*. India had done very well, were perhaps not as lucky as they could have been, but proper test match cricket.

Long Summer Days - 4:45 am till about 9:45 pm - yet we could not get 90 overs bowled!

Shadows coming in at about 6:25 PM

This was alert for 4 days at Lords! - IT WAS HOT!

Red for Ruth - Day 2

Stationed near the entrance of the media centre

Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad walking in at about 9:30 AM

Phil Tufnell, now a commentator on BBC TMS

Day 2, i took it a little easier and entered the stadium after 9:30, given that i had covered most of what i wanted to do on Day 1.

I walked around and was having great conversations with many cricket fans who had lined up near the Media center entrance. It was also the pathway where players would walk into the stadium after morning nets, to see if i could get pictures.

My selfie skills were a big let down, so i could not take as many quality pictures, but i got to see plenty of the cricket broadcasters walking Sir Alastair Cook (such a handsome man!), Michael Vaughan, Dinesh Karthik, Nasser Hussain, Stuart Broad, Ravi Shastri, Phil Tufnell, Isa Guha.

Joe Root was very polite - he spent almost 4/5 minutes signing autographs after his nets. Sai Sudarshan walked past a little later.

Joe Root patiently signing autographs after his nets and walking in front of us

This is after 5 abandoned selfie attempts!

Isa Guha - Broadcaster (former player)

Sai Sudharshan was the only batter at the nets at the time

Che Pujara as a broadcaster was polite to sign up for selfies, Dinesh Karthik escaped twice:)

Ravi Shastri's baritone even from that distance was solid! - my selfie skills failing me again!

Our biggest cheerleader - Sudhir

Edrich Lower Tier - Day 2

I was at the Edrich Lower Stand for Day 2 - starting the day in the shade, but i knew this was going to be baked from about 1 hour after lunch, because i had witnessed the movement of the sun on Day 1 and i hoped that i was prepared for it, sun screen, hat, shades and all.

My view for the day - Don't mistake the shade, i was baked for a better part of 4 hours

Sudhir was right in front

Players lined up with their Red caps

Quick fireworks before to end the ceremony

It was an enjoyable morning's play for India and if only KL Rahul had held on to that easy catch of Jamie Smith, we may well have wrapped up England before Lunch. It was a privilege to witness my second Jasprit Bumrah fifer, after MCG.

The applause for Joe Root's 8th century at Lords

Bumrah just before getting Woakes out

What a view! - Siraj Bowling and Bumrah fielding just to the left of us

Fish Eye view - Day 2 from the Edrich Lower

The ovation for Jasprit Bumrah - for his fifer

Bumrah - 5/74 - What a privilege

Started baking by now, just an hour before tea.

Our Tireless Superfan - Sudhir

Ravi Shastri for Sky Sports at Tea

It was absolutely baking by this time—it was incredible that Jofra Archer was still steaming in at 90 mph consistently. By now, the crowd was buzzing, and it was definitely getting hot under the collar. Shubman Gill got out rather surprisingly, especially since he looked very assured and had clearly worked on his defensive game. Still, it was a good day of Test cricket. Bumrah was magnificent and England fought back well, with Archer really charging in.

Two wonderful days of proper Test match cricket at the Home of Cricket, only thing to top it would have been an Indian Batting milestone. I could not have asked for more.

In Conclusion

Overall, Lord's is wonderful stadium. Beautifully modernized while still retaining its traditional charm. The seats were spacious, the restrooms comfortable and it was extremely easy to enter and exit the venue (I was out in less than 45 seconds after the game ended!, both days).

Sydney is the definitely the most beautiful of the three stadiums, but it needs modernization—the entry and exit points are quite narrow, and the food lines are long. The MCG is truly a giant arena, it is remarkable how 90,000 people can get in and out without much hassle. Lord’s probably ranks second overall, the views are superb, the seats were the most comfortable of the three, and access and exit were generally very smooth.

Best part of all three stadiums though - Not very far from public transport, they allow outside food and bags and they allow you to bring your own water bottles (and allow refills as well!).