"Aur karo BazBall ki burai" - Fans erupt as England beat India by 28 runs in 1st Test
A spirited all-round performance in the second innings helped England beat India by 28 runs on Day 4 of the opening Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday (January 28).
With the win, the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.
Defending 230, the Ben Stokes-led side bundled out India for 202 in the fourth innings. Debutante Tom Hartley starred with the ball, returning with stunning figures of 7/62.
India captain Rohit Sharma (39), KL Rahul (22), KS Bharat (28) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) got starts but failed to take the team past the finish line.
Earlier on Day 4, England put up 420, courtesy of Ollie Pope’s 196 in the second innings. He shared a century stand with Ben Foakes and fifty-plus partnerships with Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley to give the visitors a chance to beat India on a spin-friendly deck. Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball for India, bagging four wickets.
Batting first, the visitors had posted 246, thanks to Ben Stokes’ 70 off 88. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared three wickets apiece.
In response, the hosts put up 436 in their second innings as Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal chipped in the 80s. Joe Root bagged four wickets for England.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) roasted India as the visitors continued their promising run in the Bazball era. One user wrote:
Here are some more reactions:
“We didn't bat well enough” – Rohit Sharma reacts to England’s win in first Test
India captain Rohit Sharma was disappointed with the batting department as they failed to chase 230 against England in the opening Test. The 36-year-old credited Ollie Pope for taking the game away from India. He said in the post-match show:
“Overall, we failed as a team. We didn't bat well enough. I wanted them (Siraj and Bumrah) to take the game to the fifth day. The lower order fought really well there. You need to be brave enough, which I thought we weren't.”
Sharma continued:
“Hard to pinpoint where it went wrong. Having got a lead of 190, we thought we were very much in the batting, exceptional batting, one of the best I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter. Ollie Pope played a brilliant knock."
Sharma, however, defended his bowling unit despite the visitors posting a 400+ total in the third innings of the match.
"We bowled in the right areas. The bowlers executed the plans really well. You got to take your hat off to Pope and say well played."
The second Test will be played in Visakhapatnam from February 2.