India vs England: First Test a wake-up call for hosts, opines Nasser Hussain

The defeat in the first Test would serve as a wake-up call for India, believes former England captain Nasser Hussain. England clinched the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs on Sunday. It is testament that the ‘Bazball’ strategy is effective on slow tracks as well. Since the advent of ‘Bazball’, England are yet to lose a Test series. In the first Test, Ollie Pope’s 196 runs and debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley’s seven-wicket haul took the Test away from India, despite taking a massive 190-run lead. “India will probably rue their first innings. They got 436 but actually they could have got a lot more if not for some sloppy dismissals. They will come back. They are a very fine side and history tells you it will be tough for England here,” Hussain wrote for Sky Sports. “But it is a wake-up call for India as England have shown Bazball can work in these conditions,” he said, referring to England’s ultra-aggressive approach under head coach Brendon McCullum, led by skipper Ben Stokes. Read | England give hosts a reality check as 'Bazball' announces itself in India Chasing 231 for the win, the Indian batters failed to put up a fight in the fourth innings. “It shows they (England) have great self-belief. They have great belief in the way they are playing the game and do things their own way. They don’t worry about outside noise, that other people would have selected other cricketers, that people thought they should have had warm-up matches. “What I like about them is their stubbornness. If you doubt them, they’ll double down on it and go even more stubborn. I think that is a good thing because if you’re constantly listening to all the noise, all that’s written and said, you flicker from one theory to another,” Hussain wrote. Read | Where did India lose the first Test vs England? England vice-captain Pope embodied ‘Bazball’ as he swept, reverse-swept and reverse-scooped deliveries against the formidable India spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. “They faced a 190-run deficit in the first innings but, against the (high-quality) spinners in the opposition, Ollie Pope then played one of the truly remarkable innings we have ever witnessed.” The 55-year-old praised Hartley for his mental fortitude. After being struck all around by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first innings, Hartley ripped through the hosts’ batting, bagging 7/62, including four of India’s top order. “Then you had Tom Hartley, who struggled in the first innings, taking seven wickets with his skipper Stokes backing him to the hilt. When you’re off the field, I think you forget the pressure to step up in standard when you’re making your Test debut. “Nerves get to you and in that first innings Hartley did not bowl particularly bowl well. His variation in length would have disappointed him. So credit has to go to him for the second innings. “In the cauldron of a Test match in India, when the whole world is talking about you and saying, ‘are you a Test match cricketer?’, to come out and bowl the way he did, it was not just about ability but about mental strength as well. He showed he is very strong mentally,” Hussain wrote.