"England were brilliant over the last two days, India were pretty ordinary"- Anil Kumble on India's shocking defeat in first Test against England
Former India coach Anil Kumble felt the hosts got outplayed over the final two days of their 28-run defeat against England in the first Test at Hyderabad.
Team India captured a massive 190-run first-innings lead. However, they succumbed to the pressure of some innovative and attacking batting by England in their second essay. The visitors, led by a brilliant 196 from Ollie Pope, scored an improbable 420 to set India a challenging fourth-innings target of 231.
The hosts folded for 202 at the stroke of stumps on Day 4 (Sunday, January 28) to fall 1-0 behind in the best-of-five series.
Speaking to Jio Cinemas post-match, Kumble credited England for their showing while terming India's performance 'pretty ordinary'.
"England were brilliant over the last two days. India were pretty ordinary. In the field, you could see that heads were dropping down while fielding. But credit to England, the way they batted, the way they came and bowled.
"India could certainly have been more positive in their batting approach in the second innings. Once Rohit Sharma got out and Ravindra Jadeja was run out, the course of the match changed," said Kumble.
Scoring at less than three runs per over, none of the Indian batters scored a half-century, with the side reeling at an embarrassing 119/7 at one stage.
The defeat was India's first at home when leading by over 100 runs after the first innings.
Anil Kumble hails England spinner Tom Hartley for seven-wicket haul in the second innings
Anil Kumble praised left-arm spinner Tom Hartley for his comeback with the bat and ball after a dismal start to his Test career in the first innings against India.
Debuting for England in the red-ball format, the 24-year-old was carted to all corners of the ground. He conceded 131 runs for only two wickets in 25 overs in the first innings. However, he showed tremendous resolve with the bat in both innings, scoring 23 and 34.
Hartley then produced a match-winning spell of 7/62 in the final innings to seal a famous victory for England.
"Tom Hartley, a debutant, gets hit for a six on his first ball. Then, the first five overs he was going at about seven runs an over. To come back and bat really well, take two wickets in the first innings, and seven in the second and win the match for England was absolutely fantastic. England have done exceptionally well," said Kumble.
The visitors' frontline spinner Jack Leach was nursing an injury while leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed struggled for control. Hartley single-handedly carried the visitors with the ball on the fourth day.
England will certainly be buoyed by their resurgence in Test cricket over the last year and a half and the memorable win in the series opener. They will now travel to Visakhapatnam to take on the wounded Indian side in the second Test, starting February 2.