For the 500 or so England supporters in Hyderabad on Sunday, it was almost a state of nirvana. After Australia lost to West Indies 6,000 miles away at the Gabba, there’s a second piece of history to revel in, as Ben Stokes and his visitors produced a stunning comeback victory in the first Test against India .
This is not intentional. Facing a daunting first-innings deficit of 190 runs – India had never lost by three digits at home before – and a supposedly lackluster attack from the subcontinent, England were very good in these five games. Probably down 1-0. Competition Series. But as the last two years have proven, faith is a powerful thing; Led by the indomitable Stokes, the fuel for this team’s operations.
This sentiment was in Ollie Pope’s blood as the vice-captain turned 163 from five into an epic 196 in the third innings With a score of 420, a target of 231 wins was set for the home team. This was particularly evident in the performance of Tom Hartley, the left-arm spinner’s 7 for 62, England’s first 7-wicket haul since Jim Laker in 1948. This was India’s fourth defeat on home soil in 11 years.
It wasn’t until 5.30pm local time – the final half-hour of extra time – that Mohammed Siraj staggered down the track to Hartley, waving in the fresh air. Rod, everything was settled when Ben Foakes quickly knocked down the bail. India went all out and scored 202, just 29 runs short of the target, and like most results, the knock was a shock. Maybe No. 11 just doesn’t trust his defense; maybe he also enjoys a day off on the golf course.
Stokes, who usually made his own notable contribution on the day, smashed a jaw-dropping direct hit over mid-on to beat the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja, and left his fellow all-rounder limping away with a sprained hamstring. But perhaps his biggest impact has been the management of Hartley, who incredibly was the third spinner under his belt after Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed last winter. , started his Test career with five wickets.
Back on the first night, India seemed to have dealt a huge blow to Hartley’s confidence as Yashasvi Jaiswal bowled his first ball in Test cricket, scoring Six goals later, the initial avalanche run began. But after that experience, the 6-foot-4 Hartley went higher the second time around, slowing down his pace, adding length and letting the surface do its work. With health points of 23 and 34 respectively, he can also hold the ball.
These were the heady old days of Test cricket, the kind that touched the soul and made the game flex its muscles, like Kraigg Brathwaite in Brisbane. With two races in the space of about an hour, the Barmy bugler signaled the end of the first race by blasting David Rudd’s iconic song “Rally of the West Indies”.
In the middle, Hartley, who helped Pope add 104 runs in the 80-run stand before lunch, twirled to the tune of a precious three wickets. Pope was also involved, with cat-like reflexes under the helmet snaring Jaiswal (15) and Shubman Gill (0) in the space of three balls ahead of Rohit Sharma, before Virat Koh The top international player in the absence of Virat Kohli conceded five balls in the match and Mark Wood weighed in at 39 lbs after opening the match.
India bounced back to score 95 at tea time but collapsed immediately at 24 for four at the start of the gripping final set. Hartley caught promoted Axar Patel and posted 17 here and Joe Root soon trapped an in-form KL Rahul lbw, scored 22 runs. Jack Leach picked up a wicket after Stokes proved a success following last month’s knee surgery and removed Jadeja, England’s most experienced spinner is battling Battling the pain of his own knee problem (hematoma), Shreyas Iyer fell into a slip.
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India fought back again from 119 for 7, with Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat making a stand of 56, sparking a possible robbery – or at least It’s the fifth day. But once Hartley did a nice knock on the neck of Bharat and clipped and wrapped his two-wicket haul to end the game in the fifth over, Fox was the one to pop up at third. Another assistant during Tian’s recovery, he was a constant threat with the bat in the thrilling, frantic finale.
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The side under Stokes and Brendan McCullum have given their supporters some unforgettable days along the way, but this performance was undoubtedly the standout, with 190 conversions representing England’s third-highest deficit in history. Considering one of them was at Headingley in 1981 and the other during the Ashes in 1894-95, and Stokes was leading such a green attack, it’s hard to come to any other conclusion.
There is no doubt that India will be hurt and will feel the pain because of their ruthlessness with the bat in the first innings and the dismissal of Pope for 110 by Patel. Likewise, they will be troubled by Jadeja’s health and the fact that their previously all-conquering offense was swept aside while their reserves were swept. Judging from England’s performance at the end of the second day, it was truly a remarkable thing.
