England made a brilliant start to the five-match Test series against India and defeated the Rohit Sharma-led team in the first Test by 28 runs. India could not chase 231 runs and were out for 202 runs in the second innings.
England left-arm spinner Tom Hartley wrote the script behind India’s second innings collapse and took seven and a total of 9 wickets in the entire match. However, the main architect of the victory will be Ollie Pope, who played 196 innings in the second innings and was also declared Player of the Match.
The Indian team started well in their second innings as openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 42 runs for the first wicket as they chased the target. However, Jaiswal returned to the dressing room after scoring 15 runs and it was another blow for the hosts when Shubman Gill wasted another chance and had to return after scoring a duck.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma also failed to convert his opening and came out with 39 runs. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also perished against the England bowlers after scoring 17 and 13 runs respectively. Rahul played 86 innings in the first innings.
Indian batsmen KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin tried to show some fight and added 57 runs for the seventh wicket. Bharat fell to Tom Hartley with a beauty of 28 runs, while Ashwin also scored the same score as Bharat against Hartley.
Finally, Mohammed Siraj was the last Indian wicket to fall. India closed with 202 runs and England achieved a historic victory.
Rohit Sharma clueless after first Test loss against England
Indian captain Rohit Sharma praised England’s performance in the first Test match and also praised Ollie Pope.
While speaking in the post-match interview, Rohit Sharma stated that the cricket was played over four days, so it was very difficult to point out where the team went wrong. Rohit believed 231 was chaseable and the team did not bat well to achieve the score. Rohit praised the Indian bowlers and felt that they were playing in the right areas. Rohit Sharma also praised Ollie Pope and believes that he played one of the best innings by an overseas batsman in Indian conditions.
Rohit Sharma said: “Cricket is played over four days, so it is difficult to determine where it went wrong. Having built a 190 lead, we thought we were in the game. Outstanding batting, one of the best I have seen in Indian conditions from an overseas batsman, Ollie Pope played a brilliant knock. I thought you could get 230, there wasn’t much on the field. We didn’t bat well enough to get on the scoreboard.
“I went and checked where we were playing, we played in the right areas. When you finish the day, you analyze what went well and what didn’t. The players executed the plans very well, but you have to take your hat off and say well played to Pope. “It was a very serious blow.”
Rohit Sharma added that they were in the game after the first two innings of the match. Rohit wanted Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah to take the match to the fifth round. The lower order fought well, but the top order was exposed. Rohit believed that the Indian team was not brave enough, but it was a long series and the team would learn from the first Test.
“It’s hard to look at one or two things. Overall, we failed as a team. After the first innings of his and our batting, I thought we were very much in the game. We didn’t bat well enough to get to that score. I wanted them (Siraj and Bumrah) to take the game to the fifth day. 20-30 races, anything is possible.
“The lower order really fought very well there and showed the higher order that you need to fight. You have to show character, you have to be brave enough, and I thought we weren’t. We wanted to take a chance, but we didn’t do it with the bat. But that can happen. “It’s the first game of the series, I hope the guys can learn from that.”
The Indian team has fallen to fifth position in the 2023-25 World Test Championship standings and is now hoping to win the second Test to be played in Vizag starting February 2.