Tom Hartley, Ollie Pope lead England to unlikely 1st test victory over India

HYDERABAD, JANUARY 28

Debutant Tom Hartley took 7-62 as England completed an extraordinary turnaround to beat India by 28 runs in the first test on Sunday.

Hartley returned the fourth-best figures for a debutant visiting bowler in India as the hosts collapsed from 42-0 to be bowled out for 202 runs in 69.2 overs.

This was after it had taken a 190-run lead in the first innings, scoring 436 in reply to England’s 246.

Ollie Pope’s 196 runs had helped England score 420 runs in its second innings, as the visitors overcame a record deficit to register a stunning win on Indian soil.

Hartley’s seven-wicket haul was the second-best return for an English spinner on debut after John Langridge’s 7-56 against the West Indies in 1933.

India’s innings began after the lunch break with openers Rohit Sharma- and ashasvi Jaiswal getting off to a speedy start. The pair put on 42 off 70 balls for the first wicket before the Indian collapse began.

Jaiswal didn’t look comfortable against Hartley and was the first to go, caught at forward short leg by Pope in the 12th over.

Two balls later, Pope held a sharp catch off Shubman Gill who was out for a duck as India was suddenly down to 42-2.

The big blow came when Hartley trapped Rohit Sharma lbw for 39 runs. The Indian skipper opted for DRS, but the review was turned down.

Axar Patel, who batted at No. 9 in the first innings, came out to bat at five to try and negate the left-arm spin. It worked for a while as India went to tea at 95-3.

But immediately after tea, Patel handed a return catch to Hartley as the collapse continued. Then it was Joe Root’s (1-41) turn to get into the act and the part-time spinner trapped Lokesh Rahul lbw for 22.

Ben Stokes produced a bit of magic to run out Ravindra Jadeja for 2. Jack Leach, nursing a knee injury, bowled two short spells and managed to dismiss Shreyas Iyer (13) in his second.

India was in a fragile state at 119-7, but Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin provided some resistance, holding out for 130 deliveries.

They put on 57 runs for the eighth wicket but just as the light started fading, Hartley bowled Bharat for 28 runs to take back the momentum.

The umpires added an extra 30 minutes to the day’s play to secure a result, and it duly came. Ashwin was stumped for 28 – off Hartley again – and then Mohammed Siraj was dismissed similarly to spark celebrations in the English camp.

It was a record turnaround for a visiting team coming back from a deficit to beat India at home. Australia’s win after turning around a 65-run deficit back in 1964 (Chennai) was the previous best.

Earlier, Pope finished with his second highest test score to set up a challenging target for India.

Hartley scored 34 runs off 52 balls, including four fours, and his 80-run partnership with Pope for the eighth wicket put England ahead in the match.

Resuming on 316-6, Pope and Rehan Ahmed (28) frustrated the Indian bowlers early in the first session.

Pope, who was playing his first competitive game in seven months after suffering a shoulder injury, passed 150 off 212 balls as England scored 400 for the first time in its second innings since 2018.

Bumrah denied Pope his second test double hundred, bowling him on 196.