Debutant English spinner Tom Hartley took seven wickets as England pulled off a dramatic 28-run upset win over India on day four of the opening Test on Sunday.
Chasing 231 for victory, India were bowled out for 202 in the final over of an extended third session of play in Hyderabad, as Hartley got Mohammed Siraj stumped with his left-arm spin to trigger celebrations from the England camp.
Ollie Pope stood out with his 196 to bring England bouncing back from being 190 behind at the start of their second innings to lead the five-match series 1-0.
Hartley, who got his five-wicket haul after he bowled wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat, kept coming back to return figures of 7/62 and a match tally of nine wickets.
“Since I have taken captaincy on, we have had a lot of fantastic moments. This victory is probably 100% our greatest triumph. It's my first time coming here and being a captain,” said Ben Stokes after the victory.
Meanwhile, Pope, the player of the match, said, “100% my best knock. Coming here to India, toughest place for a batter, to start the series like this, heads and shoulders above the other four hundreds.”
India came into the high-profile encounter as favourites on home soil, with an unbeaten Test series record since 2012 when Alastair Cook's England beat them 2-1.
Here’s a look at the reactions to the match:
GET IN! 🦁 🏴 This team ❤️
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 28, 2024
One of our greatest ever wins 🙌
From a 190-run deficit, to victory!
Match Centre: https://t.co/s4XwqqpNlL pic.twitter.com/45dw0Qiori
From Brisbane to Hyderabad, a sensational day of test cricket. Extraordinary win this for England !! Might even be one better than Mumbai, 2012 - Long way to go in the series still, but clearly those writing off Bazball entirely might want to rethink a bit ! #INDvENG
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) January 28, 2024
Wow wow wow!
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) January 28, 2024
TEST CRICKET YOU ABSOLUTE BEAUTY!
🩵
The best stories are the ones with unexpected twists & @OPope32 scripted one for his team. When the chips were down for his team he shone through with a combination of sound shot selection, staying positive and good footwork, especially against our spinners. This is surely a… pic.twitter.com/zbsSiXmkkl
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 28, 2024
Feel emotional!! That was epic 😍 https://t.co/eY36mgfUg2
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) January 28, 2024
Long live test cricket ❤️
— Sai Kishore (@saik_99) January 28, 2024
And the nominations for best Test 7fer Of The Day are...
— Rick Eyre on cricket 🕊️ (@rickeyrecricket) January 28, 2024
Shamar Joseph
Tom Hartley
Hartley's debut figures... 7-62 the 5th best innings figures by an England player on debut in men's Tests, 2nd best by a spinner; 9-193 in the match the best for Eng on debut since John Lever in Dec 1976 (10-70 v Ind); best by a spinner since Bob Berry in 1950 (9-115 v WI).
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) January 28, 2024
“What were you thinking after the first bowling innings Tom?”
— Kate Cross (@katecross16) January 28, 2024
“This is hard work”
😂😂
What an extraordinary bit of fielding from Stokes…..backhand flick and bingo the double play of running Jadeja out but also causing him to tweak his hamstring in the process….
— Derek Pringle (@derekpringle) January 28, 2024
India didn’t see this coming…
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) January 28, 2024
Ben Stokes and his courageous gang turning the tables in this test match. Test cricket at its best. #INDvENG
What a win. Pope simply outstanding. But, the show of confidence Stokes showed in Tom Hartley at the end of day 1 has paid dividends. Fantastic captaincy leading to an amazing victory
— Steven Finn (@finnysteve) January 28, 2024
If after today you don’t love Test cricket then I don’t really know what to say to you🤷🏾♂️ Again Ben Stokes is like know other captain England have had in my time, just believes in the players he picks & most importantly backs them 👌🏾 Pope’s innings was the difference🔥
— Alex Tudor (@alextudorcoach) January 28, 2024
#INDvENG I didn’t have a dodgy stomach I’d be eating large amounts of humble pie right now. Never thought this could happen. Pope and Hartley take a bow. Extraordinary win! 👏👏
— Alan Butcher (@abutch58) January 28, 2024
Incredible from Stokes! #Gamechanger #INDvsENGTest
— Robert Croft (@RDBCroft10) January 28, 2024
Well done Tom Hartley ! What a way to get your first Test Five wicket haul. @englandcricket almost there. WoW what a Test Match #ENGvsIND #Cricket #spin
— Phil Tufnell (@philtufnell) January 28, 2024
England on the verge of pulling off the biggest upset in Test cricket in four hours.
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) January 28, 2024
This was absolutely worth waking up early and watching these two Test matches. Never predict Test cricket result on day 1.#INDvENG #AUSvsWI
— Atiq-uz-Zaman (@Atiq160Test) January 28, 2024
This day will be known as #TestMatchSunday 🔥🔥
— Alex Tudor (@alextudorcoach) January 28, 2024
What a win by England after being so far behind on 1st innings on such a challenging pitch. Pope out of this world and Hartley showed bags of character. Interesting to see if India stick with pitches that turn this much as it brings spinners of all levels into the game #INDvsENG
— Robert Croft (@RDBCroft10) January 28, 2024
One of the great days for Test cricket .. 2 Incredible wins for England & the West Indies ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 28, 2024
What a great test match! Just as well this is a 5 test series. Can't wait for Visakhapatnam.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 28, 2024
Great advert for test cricket today. Well done to all involved for showcasing their skills. #INDvENG #AUSWI
— Shan Masood (@shani_official) January 28, 2024
India started well in their chase, before Hartley struck twice in one over to send back Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Shubman Gill (0) in the space of three deliveries.
Skipper Rohit Sharma looked good in his knock of 39, but got rapped on the pads by Hartley's darting ball into the right-hander and walked back after his failed review on the lbw.
The left-handed Axar Patel (17) was promoted up the order and he attacked the bowling but got out after the tea break and India soon slipped to 119-7.
Premier spinner Jack Leach took the field with an injured knee, after he banged it on day one and two, and bowled 10 overs and got the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, for 13.
Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin attempted to pull things back in their partnership of 57 but Hartley got them out to end India's hopes.
Rohit's team posted 436 in their first innings in response to 246 by England and had the tourists in trouble at 163-5 on day three, when Pope played an innings for the ages and struck his fifth Test ton.
Pope, who blunted the spinners with sweeps and reverse sweeps, resumed the day on 148.
He was dropped twice on 110 and 184 but his key partnerships with overnight partner Rehan Ahmed (28) and Hartley (34) after a 112-run stand with Ben Foakes (34) on Saturday proved decisive.
He finally went for an audacious reverse scoop in his attempt to get his double ton when England were nine down, but Jasprit Bumrah's ball rattled the stumps and lunch was called.
Skipper Ben Stokes played his part with a 70 in England's first innings after they elected to bat and showcased their attacking "Bazball" style of play.
With inputs from AFP