England constructed a strong, comprehensive display in their second innings. As a result, they triumphed over India with a 28-run victory on the fourth day. It happened during the kick-off Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Sunday (January 28).
This victory provided the visitors an early 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-test match series.
Ben Stokes commanded his team to defend a modest 230. Debutant Tom Hartley shone as he limited India to 202. His exceptional game resulted in a 7/62.
Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, started strong with 39 runs. KL Rahul contributed 22, while KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin both added 28 each. Yet, they couldn’t bring the team to victory.
Earlier on Day 4, ENG scored 420, with Ollie Pope’s 196 in the second innings. He had a century stand with Ben Foakes and fifty-plus partnerships with Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley, giving the visitors a chance to overcome India on a spin-friendly pitch. Jasprit Bumrah shined with the ball for India, taking four wickets.
Batting first, the visitors scored 246, with to Ben Stokes’ 70 off 88. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja split three wickets each.
In response, the hosts scored 436 in their second innings, with Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal contributing 80s. Joe Root took four wickets for ENG.
Fans on X (previously Twitter) mocked India as they continued their promising Bazball season. A user wrote:
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Rohit Sharma admits India’s batting failure in first Test loss to England
The defeat in the opening Test against ENG upset India’s captain, Rohit Sharma. He attributed the failure to reach a target of 230 to a weak batting performance. Ollie Pope, in Sharma’s view, turned the game in England’s favor. He expressed these thoughts during the post-match discussion:
“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.”
Rohit Sharma
Rohit 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.”
Rohit Sharma
Despite the visitors scoring 400 or more runs in the third innings, Rohit Sharma defended his bowling unit.
“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.”
Rohit Sharma
The second Test will be held in Visakhapatnam beginning February 2.
