 "India vs England: Tom Hartley shines with seven-wicket haul as Ben Stokes and Co clinch thrilling win in Hyderabad Test")
Tom Hartley starred with the ball as England defeated India by 28 runs on Day four of a nail-biting first Test in Hyderabad on Sunday. Hartley finished with figures of 7/62 in India’s run-chase as the hosts fell short despite a gritty sense of fightback in the end. With the win, England take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. Resuming from their overnight total of 316/6 on Sunday, England were dismissed for 420 in their second innings. That meant England had a lead of 230 runs and India needed 231 runs to chase down with two days to play. Rohit Sharma (39) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) then began India’s run-chase but the latter was caught by Pope at short leg off Tom Hartley’s ball in the 12th over. Barring a couple of boundaries, Jaiswal was unable to recreate the magic with the bat this time around. Hartley then struck again in the same over to see off Shubman Gill, who had come onto bat at number three. Gill hasn’t had an impressive record at number three in Tests, and this time, the 24-year-old endured a two-ball duck, eventually being caught by Pope at silly point.
There wasn’t much respite for the Indian batters. Lack of big partnerships hurt the hosts big time. Hartley then broke through once again in the 18th over to remove skipper Rohit Sharma, who was struck LBW. While Rohit did go for the review, that did not help him or his team much as Hawkeye showed that the ball was hitting the top of middle and leg stump. KL Rahul and Axar Patel then looked to stabilise the Indian innings, but only managed a 32-run stand before Axar was caught and bowled by Tom Hartley in the 30th over, who got his fourth wicket. And KL Rahul’s dismissal in the 33rd over, when he was struck LBW by Joe Root, only worsened India’s case as they were restricted to 107/5. In the 39th over, skipper Ben Stokes showcased his moment of brilliance when he collected the ball from mid-on as Ravindra Jadeja set off for a single, and threw it towards the bowlers’ end to run the latter out.
It wasn’t long until Shreyas Iyer was also dismissed by Jack Leach to leave India reeling at 119/7, but it was a partnership between Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat that gave India a glimmer of hope in this contest. Bharat played a couple of brilliant strikes, including a slog over mid-on, and just when he was seeming to be in the groove, Tom Hartley fought back with a peach of a delivery to clean up Bharat. That ended the 57-run stand between Ashwin and Bharat that had given India some hope in the chase. Hartley’s wicket of Bharat meant that the former claimed a five-wicket haul on Test debut for England. And once Bharat was dismissed, Ashwin starting running out of partners before he was stumped by the England wicketkeeper off Hartley’s ball while looking to go down the track. Ashwin’s wicket in the 64th over meant that India were on the back seat in this Test once again. Mohammed Siraj was the last man in, and Siraj (12) and Jasprit Bumrah (6) initially braved the situation against the England bowlers. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking with a few singles, and even got lucky with leg byes. Siraj even collected a boundary in the 68th over, slog-sweeping over the midwicket fence to bring some cheer to Indian fans. However, with the day having been extended by half an hour with England looking in a winnable position, a wicket seemed inevitable. And England could not have asked for a more fitting end as Hartley himself gave the finishing touch, dismissing Siraj in the 70th over courtesy a stumping by Foakes. For India, this defeat was a timely reminder that this young crop of England spinners cannot be taken lightly. It wasn’t Hartley, however, who won the Player of the Match award, and instead it was Ollie Pope, who had led England’s remarkable fightback in the Test with a mighty knock of 196 in the second innings.
The second Test takes place in Visakhapatnam from 2 February.