England captain Ben Stokes guided his side to victory in Hyderabad despite a first-innings deficit of 190
Ben Stokes hailed England’s 28-run Test victory over India as their best since he became captain as it was lauded by pundits and fans alike as “extraordinary” and “phenomenal”.
Ollie Pope’s 196 set India 231 to win but Tom Hartley spun England to victory as he took 7-62 on his Test debut.
“We’ve had a lot of fantastic moments as a team, great wins,” Stokes said.
“But given where we are, and who we are playing, I think it’s our greatest triumph since I have been captain.”
- England seal incredible victory over India in Hyderabad
- Pope’s 196 ‘one of the great Test innings’ – Agnew
Stokes said England were “proud” to have scored such a memorable victory on Indian soil but cautioned his players not to ensure the result is just a one-off.
England’s second Test of their five-match series starts in Visakhapatnam on 2 February.
“Before the series started, we knew how much of a beast India are at home,” Stokes said.
“But the way we responded to being so far behind, it was testament to everything we have said and lived and breathed over the last two years.
“But we’ve got four Tests left. It’s about backing up this performance now. We know that India are going to come back harder at us.
“They are an incredibly tough team but if we can keep standing up to them, it’s a good sign for us. We are very proud to be 1-0 up but there is a long way to go.”
‘One of the most extraordinary results’ – what the pundits said
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew: “This is one of the most extraordinary results you will find, particularly in India. For India to have had a convincing lead of 190 on first innings and to lose the match by 28 runs is extraordinary. It really is.
“It’s unprecedented. It’s been an absolute thriller. Tom Hartley has gone from zero to hero. India have a lot of questions to answer after this and England will thoroughly enjoy their night.”
Former England batter Mark Ramprakash: “It was such a thrilling win. Ollie Pope, for me, was the difference between the two teams. Tom Hartley was brilliant but Pope’s innings is what allowed England to press on when all looked lost.
“He batted with such abandon and confidence, and quickly with those lower-order partnerships. It got England ahead of the game.”
Ex-India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta: “A superb Test match. At the end of the day the braver team won – the team who were brave enough to take a few more chances than the other. I think that was the story of the Test match as far as I was concerned.”
The key statistics from England’s historic victory
- England became the first visiting team to score 400-plus in the third innings against India having been the last team to achieve the feat when they made 406 in Ahmedabad in November 2012.
- India lost a home Test match in which they had a first-innings lead of 100 runs or more for the first time in 106 matches having won (70) or drawn (35) all of their previous 105 games on their own turf.
- England have now won 15 Tests in India, the most by a visiting team, going past Australia & West Indies’ tally of 14.
- India’s first-innings lead of 190 was the second biggest they have had where they have gone on to lose the Test. Only the 192-run lead they had against Sri Lanka at Galle in August 2015 was bigger.
- Tom Hartley is the 55th English player to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut and only the sixth player to take a seven-wicket haul on debut. The last English player to take a seven-wicket haul on debut was Dominic Cork against West Indies at Lord’s in June 1995.
Pope’s ‘exceptional’ innings the ‘best in Indian conditions’
Ollie Pope made the fourth-highest second-innings score by any visiting batter in India
Pope had already batted superbly on day three as his unbeaten 148 helped England hang in the match.
He kicked on to lay the foundation for a total which would give England a realistic shot at victory, falling four runs short of what would have been a deserved double century.
It was all the more remarkable given Pope was playing his first match of note since he dislocated his shoulder in the second Ashes Test Lord’s last summer.
Stokes dubbed it the “greatest innings played by an English batter in the subcontinent” while India captain Rohit Sharma called it an “exceptional innings” and “one of the best I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter”.
Pope, for his part, modestly played down its significance and added: “I mean, it’s a great compliment but I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.
“That’s huge but I’m sure someone has played something just as good, probably better.
“My second-innings record isn’t as good and that’s fairly well documented, so it is nice to get that monkey off my back.”
Hartley repays faith shown by Stokes
Left-arm spinner Hartley endured a difficult start to his debut on day one as he became the first England bowler to see his first delivery in Test cricket belted over the boundary for six.
Lancashire spinners have not found life easy while playing for England in recent years, but Ormskirk-born Hartley’s contribution on the fourth day was telling as he winkled out four of India’s top five, before he returned to deliver the coup de grace.
Stokes said he “was committed to giving him [Hartley] that long spell” in the first innings and knew if “gave him the confidence” to express himself he would come good.
Hartley repaid Stokes’ faith in spades. His 9-193 in the match is the best for England on debut since John Lever in December 1976 (10-70 v India) and the best by a spinner since Bob Berry in 1950 (9-115 against West Indies).
“After the first innings, I was thinking to myself, this is hard work! It was really tough out there,” Hartley said.
“It didn’t spin quite as much as we thought but it is testament to Stokesy and the coaches. They really got around me, and I didn’t lose any confidence – I could just come out here and do my best this innings.”
‘One of the best sports team in the world’ – how fans reacted
Arvindn: This England Test team has to be one of the best sports teams in the world right now. They have transformed the sport over the last couple of years. Not many teams can say that. They are right up there with Chicago Bulls, Ferrari in F1, Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, Roger Federer etc.
Dean in Cardiff: What makes this win so special is the management went with Hartley, and stayed with him even after the first innings suggested he was frankly way out of his depth. That sort of ability to stay the course, to have confidence in a player who was doubting himself, is why England won. That and the best overseas innings ever seen in India.
Matt: What a Test match victory that is! Backs to wall for part of it but absolutely class from England these last two days! Phenomenal victory in India, not easy to achieve.
Stevie: This England team can win from anywhere…and other teams know it as well. Stokes and McCullum have turned England into mentality monsters!
Lee in Camberley: 99.99% of pundits, ex-pros and fans criticised Stokes for the way he dealt with Hartley first innings. Shows how massively different that dressing room and Stokes’ and McCullum’s approach to the team is, and how it allows the players to flourish.