England pulled off one of their most sensational away wins, shocking India with a 28-run victory in a nail-biting finish to the first Test in Hyderabad.
Fuelled by one of the all-time great knocks by Ollie Pope and a mesmerizing 7-62 from rookie spinner Tom Hartley, England set India 231 to win, then skittled the hosts out for 202 in the extra half-hour at the end of the fourth day.
Toppling a team that had lost only three of their last 46 home Tests is astounding in itself, but England did it with a greenhorn attack and with senior spinner Jack Leach hindered by a knee injury.
England bounced back from a first-innings deficit of 190 – only twice before in Test history have they overturned such a gap to win. India have never before lost a home Test when taking a lead over 100.
After England resumed on 316-6, Pope marched on to 196, the highest second-innings score ever made by an England batter in India. The visitors were dismissed for 420 on the brink of lunch.
The target should have been achievable for India, even on the crumbling pitch, but the hosts crumbled. England were spearheaded by the splendid Hartley, who also chipped in with 34 with the bat.
A collapse of 4-24 tore the heart out of the India middle order and silenced the home fans.
With India on the edge, KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin forged a defiant partnership of 78 that revived the crowd’s hopes. India had the upper hand, only for Hartley to bowl Bharat with a peach.
The extra time was granted, the darkness crept in. Ashwin skipped past Hartley to be stumped, but still India were not done.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj smashed 25 for the last wicket before Siraj was stumped off Hartley to ignite wild England celebrations.
The second Test kicks off in Visakhapatnam on Friday, 2 February.
