Tom Hartley’s magnificent 7-62 helped England to a dramatic victory against India in the first Test, by 28 runs.
The tourists began Day four 316-6 with a healthy lead of 126, Ollie Pope was looking to add to his magnificent 148 not out, while the hosts were looking to restrict Ben Stokes’s side for under 200.
And it took Pope just one over to reach 150.
Embed from Getty ImagesRuns continued to flow for England.
Embed from Getty ImagesUntil Bumrah dismissed Rehan Ahmed for 28, at 339-6
Embed from Getty ImagesHartley served up some lust blows.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd Pope continued to dominate at the other end.
Embed from Getty ImagesKL Rahul made things worse for India when he dropped Pope on 186.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd Tom Hartley continued his assault on India’s bowlers.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Ravichandran Ashwin finally dismissed him for 34 on 119-8.
Embed from Getty ImagesRavindra Jadeja made it 420-9 when he sent Mark Wood back to the pavilion.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd Bumrah polished off England’s second innings at 420 by dismissing Pope for a magnificent 196.
Embed from Getty ImagesSo that meant that England had set India a competitive target of 231 to win.
Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave the chase, a good start, by scoring 42 in 11.3 Overs.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Pope showed no signs of stiffness as he to a sharp catch off Jaiswal, to give Hartley his first wicket of the innings, at 42-1.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd he did the same with Shubman Gill at, 42-2.
Embed from Getty ImagesZak Crawley bizarrely missed a catch off Rahul.
While the Indian Captain began to attack England’s bowlers.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut just as we were looking good, Tom Hartley pinned him on the crease and claimed his third wicket at 63-3.
Embed from Getty ImagesIndia made a surprise call to send Axar Patel in at number five, and he looked solid for his 17 off 42.
Embed from Getty ImagesRahul also began to score runs off the spinners.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe duo took India to 95-3, and the dressing room was hoping that this could blossom into a big partnership.
But it wasn’t to be, as Patel departed on the fourth ball after Tea at 95-4. it was a soft dismissal in which gifted Hartley his fourth wicket.
Embed from Getty ImagesThings got worse for India, as Rahul was out LBW to Root at 107-5.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd to pile more misery on India, Jadeja was run out via a superb piece of fielding by the England captain at 119-6.
Embed from Getty ImagesJack Leach got England closer to the finishing line with the wicket of Shreyas Iyer at 119-7.
Embed from Getty ImagesKS Bharat and Ashwin gave India some hope of pulling off a win, with a 57-run partnership.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut the hope vanished as Hartley got Bharat for 28, with an absolute beauty, at 176-8.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd the end was nigh when Ashwin was stumped by Ben Foakes off Hartley at 177-9.
Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah are known for having big hearts, and they showed this with a partnership of 25 from 36 balls.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut the pressure got to them in the end, as Siraj was stumped by Foakes, to bowl the hosts out for 202, to give the tourists a 1-0 lead in the five-match Series.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat a turnaround by Stokes’ England, who have pulled off one of the greatest Test match victories in history.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Captain was proud of his team for pulling off an exceptional performance.
“Before the series started, we knew how much of a beast India are at home,” “But the way we responded to being so far behind, it was testament to everything we have said and lived and breathed over the last two years.
“But we’ve got four Tests left. It’s about backing up this performance now. We know that India are going to come back harder at us.
“They are an incredibly tough team but if we can keep standing up to them, it’s a good sign for us. We are very proud to be 1-0 up but there is a long way to go.”
Stokes: Sky Sports
Meanwhile, the Indian Captain was critical with his side’s performance, especially with the bat.
“Hard to look at one or two things. Overall we failed as a team. I thought after the first innings of their batting and our batting I thought we were very much in the game. We didn’t bat well enough to get to that score [in the second innings].”
Sharma: ESPN Cricinfo
So just like the 2021 Series, England strike first. Will India bounce back in Visakhapatnam, or will England make it 2-0?
Also Read: Jannik Sinner: Historic Australian Open Triumph
Find out on World In Sport.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos
