England beat India by 5 wickets, take 1-0 lead in five-match Test series
Leeds, Jun 24 (PTI): Ben Duckett top-scored with 149 as England beat India by five wickets in the first Test of the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy here on Tuesday.
Resuming at 21 for no loss on the fifth and final day, England remained unscathed in the first session and even as India fought back with four wickets in the second, they remained ahead in the chase.
Chasing 371 for the win, the hosts reached 373 for 5 from 82 overs.
Joe Root (53 not out) and Jamie Smith (44 not out) took England over the line with an unbeaten 71-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
The second Test will be played from July 2-6 at Birmingham.
Brief Scores:
India 471 & 364 lost to England 465 & 373/5 in 82 overs (Zak Crawley 65, Ben Duckett 149, Joe Root 53 not out, Ben Stokes 33, Jamie Smith 44 not out; Prasidh Krishna 2/92, Shardul Thakur 2/51) by 5 wickets.
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US firm The Standard opens GCC in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): US-based firm The Standard, a leading provider of insurance, retirement, and investment products, on Tuesday opened a GCC at Embassy Tech Village in Bengaluru.
The facility, inaugurated by IT Minister Priyank Kharge, marks the next phase of The Standard’s growth in India, following the launch of its India operations in November 2025, the company said.
According to a statement, the centre will support the continued expansion of capabilities across AI engineering, cloud platform development, data and analytics, digital transformation, and insurance operations, aligned with the company’s global strategy.
The inauguration also marks the opening of The Standard India’s permanent Bengaluru office, with plans for long-term expansion in software engineering, total experience, AI, and enterprise platforms.
The company said it will continue strengthening its in-house technology expertise in line with its long-term transformation roadmap.
“Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, continues to be the global epicentre for Global Capability Centres. The addition of The Standard’s GCC is yet another testament to the strength of our ecosystem—anchored in world-class talent, progressive policies, and a strong culture of innovation,” the IT minister said.
“We are witnessing sustained momentum in GCC investments, with global enterprises increasingly choosing Karnataka to drive high-value functions across AI, engineering, and digital transformation. Our focus is on enabling the next generation of GCCs that are innovation-led, outcome-driven, and deeply integrated with global business strategy,” he added.
Since establishing its presence in India in November last year, The Standard has strengthened its local leadership team across finance, human resources, talent acquisition, information technology, administration, and communications, the company said.
Greg Chandler, Executive Vice President of Information Technology at The Standard, said its operations in India play an increasingly important role in the company’s technology transformation.
“The launch of The Standard India strengthens our ability to fuel ongoing growth, innovate, scale technology capabilities, accelerate digital transformation, and deliver new solutions to our customers faster,” he said.
“This centre represents a long-term investment in world-class talent and reflects our confidence in India as a strategic partner in shaping the future of our business,” Chandler added.
