Debutant Tom Hartley took 7-62 as England com-pleted an extraordinary turnaround to beat India by 28 runs in the first test on Sunday.
Hartley returned the fourth-best figures for a debutant visiting bowler in India as the hosts col-lapsed from 42-0 to all out for 202 runs in 69.2 overs.
The inexplicable collapse was all the more unlikely after the hosts took a 190-run lead in the first innings, scoring 436 in reply to England’s 246.
Ollie Pope’s 196 runs helped England score 420 runs in its second innings, as the visitors overcame a record deficit to register a stunning win on Indian soil.
Hartley’s seven-wicket haul was the second-best return for an English spinner on debut after John Langridge’s 7-56 against the West Indies in 1933.
“Since I have taken the captaincy on, we have had a lot of fantastic moments as a team. We’ve got a lot of great victories, and we’ve been part of some amazing games. Where we are and who we are playing against, this victory is probably, definitely, our greatest triumph,” said English skipper Ben Stokes after the win.
India’s innings began after the lunch break with openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal getting off to a fast start. The pair put on 42 off 70 balls for the first wicket before the Indian collapse began.
Jaiswal didn’t look comfortable against Hartley and was the first to go, caught at forward short leg by Pope in the 12th over.
Two balls later, Pope held a sharp catch off Shubman Gill who was out for a duck as India was suddenly down to 42-2.
The big blow came when Hartley trapped Rohit Sharma lbw for 39 runs. The Indian skipper opted for DRS, but the review was turned down.
Axar Patel, who batted at No. 9 in the first in-nings, came out to bat at five to try and negate the left-arm spin. It worked for a while as India went to tea at 95-3.
But immediately after play resumed for the evening session, Patel handed a return catch to Hartley as the collapse continued. Then it was Joe Root’s (1-41) turn to get into the act and the part-time spinner trapped Lokesh Rahul lbw for 22.
Stokes produced a bit of magic to run out Ravindra Jadeja for 2. Jack Leach, nursing a knee injury, bowled two short spells and managed to dismiss Shreyas Iyer (13) in his second.
India was in a fragile state at 119-7, but Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin provided some resistance, holding out for 130 deliveries.
They put on 57 runs for the eighth wicket but just as the light started fading, Hartley bowled Bharat for 28 runs to take back the momentum.
The umpires added an extra 30 minutes to the day’s play to secure a result, and it duly came. Ashwin was stumped for 28 – off Hartley again – and then Mohammed Siraj was dismissed similarly to spark celebrations in the English camp.—APP
