Tom Hartley and England made a memorable comeback to win the first Test match by 28 runs. The English turned the deficit of 190 runs from the first innings to a decent lead thanks to a enterprising century by Oillie Pope. Then Tom Hartley recorded his best ever bowling performance in first class victory to silence the home fans in Hyderabad evening. The Indians had only themselves to blame after some ordinary performances throughout the match. Team India has failed to win any of the last three matches played on home soil.
Team Lineups
Virat Kohli was the most notable absentee from the Indian lineup that vanquished the South Africans at Newlands. The 34 year old batter would not be available for selection due to personal reasons. Srikar Bharat came in to replace Virat Kohli. The 30 year old from Andhra Pradesh would don the gloves for team India, which means KL Rahul is playing as a specialist batsman.
Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishma are the other two missing from the Indian XI at Newlands. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel were added to the team. This decision would not surprise anyone,anyone as these two were pivotal difference makers in last series, with 59 wickets among them. The return of Jasprit Bumrah would sure please Indian fans. The 30 year old pacer returned to the Test side after two long years without a game. Mohammed Siraj was playing the first test before his home crowd.
Just like Virat Kohli, Harry Brook is absent from the English test setup due to personal reasons. Ben Foakes came in to replace him and was handed the keeping gloves. Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad have announced their retirements after the Ashes series, so there were plenty of spots up for grabs for the newcomers.
England team management opted for a trio of spin attack. 24 year old Lancashire spinner Tom Hartley makes his debut in this match. Rehan Ahmed played only one test match before this one. Ben Stokes’ preferred spinner Jack Leach is back to the team after missing the Ashes series due to a lumbar stress fracture. James Anderson is benched for this game as England chose only one pacer to play in Hyderabad.
England
1. Zak Crawley 2. Ben Duckett 3. Ollie Pope 4. Joe Root 5. Jonny Bairstow 6. Ben Stokes (Cap.) 7. Ben Foakes (WK) 8. Rehan Ahmed 9. Tom Hartley 10. Mark Wood 11. Jack Leach
India
1. Rohit Sharma (Cap.) 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal 3. Shubman Gill 4. KL Rahul 5. Shreyas Iyer 6. Ravindra Jadeja 7. Srikar Bharat (WK) 8. Ravichandran Ashwin 9. Axar Patel 10. Jasprit Bumrah 11. Mohammed Siraj
The English captain Ben Stokes won the coin toss and chose to bat first. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is known to be a paradise for pace bowlers. The surface looked hard, it may assist the spinners as the game progresses. In the last test match at this ground, India emerged victorious against the West Indies by a huge margin of 10 wickets. India had three spin bowlers in their lineup but Umesh Yadav was the key bowler who dismantled the West Indies lineup. The pitch was revealing more cracks than day one, the runs would likely flow in the next three days.
The third day pitch of Hyderabad got much slower compared with the first. The first day offered a lot of bounce and drift for the spinners. It still allowed slow turn and reacted differently to different deliveries. The humid weather favoured reverse swing deliveries. The lack of bounce created an issue for the batsmen with the occasional ball keeping low to deceive them. A target close to 250 can pose a tricky situation before India if they are not careful enough.
The fourth day pitch was acted much like the third day.There was slow turn and the new ball was causing troubles for the batsmen. Once the ball gets softened, the batting becomes much easier with predicable bounce and little swing.
Fixture
These two cricket heavyweights have met on 131 previous occasions in Test cricket. In those games, India has emerged victorious on 31 occasions. England has the upper hand with 50 wins. The remaining 50 matches ended in a draw. On Indian soil, the hosts are clearly ahead with 22 wins. England won on 14 occasions during their tour of India.
These two sides met in the Test format back in 2020-21 in an entertaining series. Top quality cricket was played across five matches in this series and it ended in 2-2. In the last series in India, the three lions succumbed to the spinning power of the hosts and lost the series 3-1. The last time India were beaten on home soil was back in 2012. An energetic English side led by Sir Alastair Cook recorded a famous win.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has hosted five games before this. The wins were equally shared by teams batting first and second. No visiting team has ever recorded a Test victory at this ground. India is a dominant force in Hyderabad, they even scored an astronomical 687/6 against Bangladesh back in 2017. India has secured 16 successive series wins since 2012, seven of these series have been whitewashes.
| Venue | The second day of the first Test match between India and England was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. |
| Date | The game started on Sunday, 28 January, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. local time. |
Captaincy & Tactics
India went close to record their worst loss from a winning situation. Back in 2015, Dinesh Chandimal’s enterprising innings saw the Sri Lankans take home an unlikely victory despite being 192 runs behind after the first innings. This time Ollie Pope was India’s nemesis, scoring 196 runs in his innings. The sweeps were out once again. Ollie Pope showed his versatility throughout the innings. Some of those shots will live long in the memory of cricket fans. Pope played a Dillscoop off Ravindra Jadeja to stun the home crowd. The spinners struggled against the might of Pope who was in no mood to back down.
Rohit Sharma called in Jasprit Bumrah to bring a crucial breakthrough. The reverse swing of Bumrah was too good for Rehan Ahmed. He eventually dismissed Pope as well. But the partnership between Pope and Hartley hurt the Indian bowlers more. Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley added 80 runs for the eighth wicket.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are two of the greatest bowlers in Indian history. But the iconic duo was not able to break the stand. Rather, they were giving away easy singles to the opponent. Pope’s aggression forced Rohit Sharma to keep his fielders close to the boundary line. This decision enabled the English batsmen to rotate the strike and score runs easily. Ollie Pope rode his luck on several occasions. The 26 year old right hander had 72 false responses with the bat.
Ben Stokes is well known for his attacking mindset while setting the fielding up. He tried something new on this occasion. He was more than happy to let the batsmen take easier singles rather than conceding boundaries regularly. Mark Wood started hitting the deck hard but found himself to be extremely unlucky not to take a wicket. The humidity of the Hyderabad weather did not let him continue is spell for a long period and Stokes switched to spin soon enough.
The English skipper deserves credit and appreciation for his persistence shown in Tom Hartley. Before the Test match, Hartley was an anonymous figure in the international arena, even back in England. He played just four first class matches prior to this Test. But Stokes trusted his instincts and bowled Hartley for a total of 51 overs. The result is there for all to see. After being hit for two sixes in the first over of his Test career, Tom Hartley made a monumental comeback to win the game for his country.
Batting Analysis
A target of 230 or more has only been chased down on five occasions on Indian soil. So, the English remaining batsmen where looking to get closer to the 250 mark to pose a formidable target for the Indians to chase down. Ollie Pope continued to find the boundary on regular basis, he added 48 runs with his 148 from the previous day. Ollie Pope sticked to the rules of Bazball: attack the opponent bowlers at any cost. He did not have a recognised batsman at the other end. It freed him further to add innovation to his batting. The hours of preparations was finally at work. Rohit Sharma looked exasperated at his bowlers’ inefficacy as Pope tore them apart.
When the Indians came out to bat, it was a total different scenario altogether. Their batters are not naturally inclined to sweep the ball. The English players were recharged after their comeback from the first innings deficit. The Indians were suddenly feeling the pressure in front of their fans. After getting an early reprieve, Rohit Sharma soon started playing his natural shots. The opening pair were expressive and raced to 42 in no time. Then Tom Hartley started making inroads. Jaiswal was forced to play the ball on the front foot and succumbed to a stunning catch at short leg.
Among all the Indian heavyweight batters, Rohit Sharma was the only one who showed the willingness to sweep the ball against the spinners. He played the reverse sweep thrice, a shot has been only used on seven previous occasions in his Test career. He scored two boundaries through this stroke. He was eventually trapped in his crease by the intelligence of Tom Hartley.
Axar Patel was promoted up the order to maintain the left hand/right hand combination at the middle. The all-rounder was also a ploy to tackle the finger spin of Hartley. He added 32 runs with KL Rahul for the fourth wicket partnership. The pair were pouncing on the odd bad deliveries and keeping the scoreboard ticking.
After Axar returned to the pavilion through a return catch to Hartley, India gradually started losing the plot. Rahul was dismissed by a full length delivery by Joe Root. Shreyas Iyer came and went back to the pavilion. Shubman Gill has been struggling for form since July of last year. The right hander averages just above 13 over the last 11 Test matches. India was finally feeling absence of Virat Kohli, who remains out of contention due to personal issues.
The ball was getting softer and the conditions was becoming batsman friendly once again. KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin added 57 runs in 124 runs. But once they got out it was only a matter of time that England would win the Test match.
Bowling Analysis
Tom Harley got discovered thanks to the modern technology available in English county cricket. His high arm action impressed Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum and he was eventually selected for the tour. The 24 year old grew from an unknown cricketer to a world famous cricketer in the matter of just three days. He looked very ordinary on the first day while Yashasvi Jaiswal was hitting him all across the ground. Despite the setback, Hartley came back to lead England to a famous victory. Like Axar Patel, the tall frame enables him to extract extra bounce off the wicket. The batsman can feel uneasy while facing his good length deliveries. However, Hartley stored the best for a late show.
KS Bharat was the recipient of the ball of the day. The delivery from Hartley drifted in, pitched on leg stump and turned away from Bharat’s bat. The ball hit the top of the off stump and Ben Stokes gave the loudest roar of the match. After a brief resistance which took the game to an extra half an hour, Hartley ended the formalities by dismissing Mohammed Siraj stumped by Ben Foakes.
After 30 Test matches, Jasprit Bumrah averages 20.81. The bowling of this master pacer was a massive positive side in a dismal Test for the Indians. Bumrah claimed six wickets in the game, including four in the second innings. He was the bowler who finally got Ollie Pope dismissed. Bumrah was finding reverse swing with the old ball and the English batsmen were unable to put him away. The struggling spinners may have cost India the match.
Rehan Ahmed has bowled impressively throughout the match. But the leg spinner would bowl the odd short deliveries to release the pressure. However, the future looks bright for the 19 year old. Jack Leach came to his Test match after missing the entirety of the Ashes series last year. But another injury restricted his movement, he tried his level best by hobbling away through the overs.
Joe Root could not fulfill his role of being the best batter of his side. However, the right hander had a telling impact on the game with his finger spin. Root picked up five wickets in total, bowling more than 40 overs. It was a comprehensive team performance by the Englsihmen with every member of team playing their parts.
Fielding Analysis
Ben Stokes conjured a piece of magic when we ran Ravindra Jadeja out with an underarm throw. This event changed the whole complexion of the game and turned the game in the favour of the Englishmen. Ravindra Jadeja displayed impeccable technique and game reading while batting in the first innings. The southpaw all-rounder is that type of a batsman who can change the course of any match if he stays at the crease for 10-15 overs. Jadeja hit the ball towards the long on region and looked for a quick single. The English skipper Ben Stokes was stationed there, he picked the ball and threw it towards the bowler’s end in a jiffy. It was a direct hit and Jadeja was caught short of his crease. A brilliant piece of fielding from the inspirational captain instilled a sense of self belief within the English camp.
Earlier in the day, Ollie Pope was given the second reprieve of his innings. It was cross delivery by Mohammed Siraj with a hint of extra bounce. Pope tried to cut it away, but only managed to get an outside edge. KL Rahul at wide slip spilled a straightforward chance to dismiss Pope. It was the second time Pope was offered a life after Axar Patel dropped one on day three.
England made a catching error in the second over of the Indian chase. Mark Wood induced an edge of Rohit Sharma’s bat, but Zak Crawley could not bend down in time to complete the catch. After his epic innings of 196, Ollie Pope was back under helmet in the Indian second innings. He produced a stunning catch at short leg to remove Jaiswal. Pope also caught Shubman Gill at silly mid on. All the other fielders backed up their bowlers perfectly on their way to victory.
Key Performances
Tom Hartley recorded the third best figures for a touring bowler on debut in this Test. The 24 year old left arm orthodox bowler ended the game with figures of 9-193. This feat included seven scalps in the second innings that totally dismantled the Indian batting lineup. The Lancashire spinner showed courage and resilience after the abysmal performance in the first innings. Joe Root backed up his fine bowling display from the first innings with another in the second innings. Jack Leach was the only other bowler to pick up wickets.
The Indians would feel quite aggrieved with their clueless batting performances. Rohit Sharma was expressive from the start and played a fluent innings of 39 runs from 58 deliveries. However, there was not a single Indian batsman to back him up. Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin both scored 28 runs each as the Indian lower order tried to launch a late rescue act. KL Rahul chipped in with 22 runs. But failure from the middle order cost India the Test match.
Earlier in the day, Ollie Pope continued where he left off in the third day. The 26 year old batter was toying with the fielders, bringing out innovative shots regularly. He missed out on a memorable double hundred as his innings was ended with a full delivery from Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, taking 4 wickets for 41 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed three, but he was expensive with a economy rate of 4.34 across his 29 overs. The English lower order had significant contributions in stretching the lead. Rehan Ahmed scored 28 and Tom Harley looked good in his innings of 34.
Turning Point
The turning point of the day came at the 12th over of Indian 2nd innings. India made a sensational start in pursuit of the target. Rohit Sharma was batting well with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the other end. Tom Hartley just came to deliver his second over. The finger spinner quickly assessed the situation and adjusted his length to trouble the young Jaiswal. The Indian opener was forced to play on the backfoot. A full delivery came off the edge of Jaiswal’s bat. Ollie Pope was fielding at short leg wearing helmets and did not make any mistakes to complete the catch. This first wicket enabled England to crawl their way back into the game and eventually snatch a dramatic victory against the home side.
Match Result
England snatched a memorable victory against India in the first Test in Hyderabad. Through a couple of magnificent performances by Tom Hartley and Ollie Pope, the Englishmen won the exciting match by 28 runs and took a 1-0 lead in this five match Test series.
Man of the Match
Despite the wonderful bowling performance by debutant Tom Hartley, the contribution of Ollie Pope was too big to ignore. The right hander played a knock of ages with an innings of 196 in the second innings.
Brief Scorecard
| England First Innings: 246/10 (64.3 overs) | England 2nd Innings: 420/10 (102.1 overs) | India 1st Innings: 436/10 (121 overs ) | India 2nd Innings: 202/10 (69.2 overs) |
| Ben Stokes 70 (88) | Ollie Pope 196* (278) | Ravindra Jadeja 87 (180) | Rohit Sharma 39 (58) |
| Jonny Bairstow 37 (58) | Ben Duckett 52 (47) | KL Rahul 86 (123) | Srikar Bharat 28 (59) |
| Ravindra Jadeja 3/88 (18 overs) | Jasprit Bumrah 4/41 (16.1 overs) | Joe Root 4/79 (29 overs) | Tom Hartley 7/62 (26.2 overs) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin 3/68 (21 overs) | Ravichandran Ashwin 3/126 (29 overs) | Tom Hartley 2/131 (25 overs) | Jack Leach 1/33 (10 overs) |
Day Highlights
Day Wrap-Up
After four wonderful days of Test cricket, England recorded a wonderful victory on Indian soil. Tom Hartley banished the ghosts from the first innings and picked up seven wickets in the second to bring home a wonderful win. Ollie Pope was the main orchestrator of the victory with a stunning 196 run innings in the second innings. The Indians would have to regroup and work on their mistakes to get themselves back in this series. They need to call in the reinforcements after both Jadeja and Rahul got injured on the fourth day. The two teams will meet again in the second Test at Visakhapatnam starting from February.
