"The difference between being foolish and being brave" - Dinesh Karthik on Ben Stokes backing Tom Hartley in IND vs ENG 1st Test
Dinesh Karthik believes that Ben Stokes' tactic of backing debutant spinner Tom Hartley in the recently concluded Hyderabad Test against India earned widespread praise because the team got a favourable result.
He opined that things might have been different had England not won the Test. Hartley received a lot of flak for his ordinary bowling in India's first innings.
Despite the youngster's struggles, Stokes persisted with him, giving him long spells consistently. Hartley repaid the faith by making amends in the fourth innings, bagging a stunning seven-wicket haul as the visitors completed a famous 28-run victory.
Commenting on Stokes' decision, here's what Karthik said during a discussion on Cricbuzz:
"The difference between being foolish and being brave, a lot of the time, becomes the result."
Karthik also pointed out how both Stokes and Hartley observed India's game and adjusted their approach accordingly, adding:
"What Ben Stokes has done is observe what Rohit Sharma has done and kind of followed through a little bit with his fields. But what Tom Hartley did was the opposite. When he was batting, he observed what Ravindra Jadeja was doing and realised that that's not what he wants to do. It was easier to bat when people were bowling faster, so he slowed his pace."
Tom Hartley picked up nine wickets across two innings on debut. He also chipped in with a valuable contribution with the bat, scoring 34 runs in England's second essay.
"This is going to be a landmark and a watershed moment in English Test history" - Dinesh Karthik on England's win in Hyderabad
Dinesh Karthik further stated that England beating India in the Test series opener in Hyderabad was a momentous victory for Ben Stokes and Co., given that they had their backs to the wall at the start.
Mentioning how England battled several odds to ultimately end up on the winning side, the cricketer-commentator added:
"This is going to be a landmark and a watershed moment in English Test history because, coming to India, being so far back, with the kind of spinners that they had, and with the main bowler being hamstrung and can't bowl long spells. To take everything into account, what they have achieved is nothing short of unreal."
The second Test between the two cricketing giants will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam from February 02 to 06.