Posted in Foreign News

England stage stunning comeback to beat India by 28 runs in first Test

   January 28, 2024
England stage stunning comeback to beat India by 28 runs in first Test


England beat India by 28 runs in the first cricket Test in Hyderabad, while Hartley took seven wickets on his debut.

Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley engineered a remarkable turnaround for England, securing a thrilling 28-run win in the first Test match against India.

England’s win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday was hailed as one of the “greatest of all time”, giving the country a 1-0 lead in the five-match cricket series.

India appeared to be in the box seat after scoring a lead of 190 in their first innings, but Pope’s epic 196-run innings revived England, who scored 420 all out in their second innings to pull themselves back into the contest.

So the hosts needed 231 to win the game. But the slow left-arm bowler’s 7-62 in his debut Test undone India, who were bowled out for 202 in a sprawling final session on the penultimate day.

India captain Rohit Sharma’s 39th hit was the best by an Indian batsman in the second innings as the hosts lost 4-24 when they collapsed midway through the innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin (28) and Srikar Bharat (28) added 57 runs for the eighth wicket to try and take the game into its final day, but that was not to be.

The game went into extra time with both teams closing in on victory and India trying to avoid just a fourth home defeat in 47 Tests.

England captain Ben Stokes said he was “incredibly proud” of the achievement.

“Before the series started, we knew what a beast India is home to. But the way we responded to being so far behind was a testament to everything we have said, lived and breathed over the last two years,” he told TNT Sports after the game.

“We still have four tests to go. Now it’s about securing this performance. We know that India will strike back hard against us. They are an incredibly strong team, but if we can continue to stand up to them it will be a good sign for us.

“It’s still very early, we’re very proud to be 1-0 up, but there’s still a long way to go.”

“Stunning victory”

Former England spinner Graeme Swann hailed the result as a “stunning win” for the visitors and described Pope’s innings as “magnificent”.

Cricket writer Andy Zaltzman said it was one of England’s greatest Test victories, while former fast bowler Derek Pringle referred to England coach Brendon McCullum, saying he “continues to defy convention”.

Former England international Robert Croft said the hosts may regret the kind of surface they produced in Hyderabad.

“It will be interesting to see if India sticks with pitches that spin so much as it brings in spinners of all levels,” he said in a post on X.

The second match of the five-Test series in Visakhapatnam begins on Friday.

India remains without the services of Virat Kohli, who announced that he would miss the first two Tests of the series due to personal reasons.





Source link