A Debutant Spins India To Defeat
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2024-01-29 16:29:14
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It took a debutant to bust the myth that Indian batters, having been brought up playing on spinning pitches, are better players of spin and also, the other myth that Indian spinners are better bowlers in home conditions. Tom Hartley, the England spinner who debuted in the Hyderabad Test against India, took 7 wickets for just 62 runs to help his side bowl India out for 202 and win the Test by 28 runs after having conceded a vital lead (which many thought would be match-winning) of 126 runs in the first innings. But first Ollie Pope (196 and unlucky to have missed his double century) with his fantastic display of Bazball and then Hartley, turned the game around to conquer Fort Hyderabad for England and give them a crucial 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Later, India head coach Rahul Dravid said that India should have got more runs in the first innings. While that would have been good, what cost the match was the lack of application and the total absence of the desire to occupy the crease in Indian batters in the second innings. That and the fact that they did not learn from the way the English batters batted. There were no demons in the fourth day pitch. But just offering an unsure bat to the ball more often than not is a sign of weakness. Indian batters did not take the fight to the opposition camp and allowed their bowlers to get on top. In other words, the Englishmen outplayed India at its own game.
India will have to learn a lot of lessons from this defeat. With Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul ruled out of the second Test due to injuries, India's problems have multiplied. They have drafted Sarfaraz Khan (who has been a prolific scorer in the domestic circuit) and Washington Sundar in the team. But no combination will click if the Indian top order does not display application and plays to potential.
