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England beat India by 28 runs in the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, January 28. With the memorable triumph, the visitors took a significant 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which is expected to produce more entertaining contests.
England batted first in the Hyderabad Test and put up 246 on the board in 64.3 overs as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin claimed three wickets each. Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with two scalps apiece. India responded with 436 as three batters scored 80s.
In their second innings, the visitors made a strong comeback courtesy of Ollie Pope, who scored a magnificent 196. Set to chase a target of 231, India were then bowled out for 202 as debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley starred with 7/62.
The Hyderabad defeat is only India’s eighth Test loss at home since the start of 2008. Their previous seven losses during the phase in consideration have come by comprehensive margins.
Elaborating on the Hyderabad loss, we analyze three reasons why it is India's most disappointing home defeat in the last 15 years.
#1 India had a hugely significant 1st innings lead of 190
At the halfway stage of the game, India held all the aces. They had first kept England to under 250 in their first innings and then notched up a big lead of 190. To lose from that position, they needed to play very badly. And, with all due credit to England, India did make life tough for themselves with a poor second-innings effort with both bat and ball.
At the post-match press conference, Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid opined that the hosts should have scored 70 runs more in the first innings, when the conditions were much better to bat on. The Indian legend commented:
“I thought we left probably 70 runs on the board in the first innings when conditions were pretty good to bat in on day two. I thought in those kinds of situations, we got ourselves into some good starts and we didn't really capitalize. We didn't get 100, we didn't get somebody getting a really big 100 for us.”
While Dravid has a point, stats reveal that the Hyderabad Test was the first instance of India losing a match at home after gaining a first-innings lead of over 100 runs. Overall, this is the second time that they have lost a Test after claiming a lead of 190-plus. The only other instance was against Sri Lanka in 2015 when they lost the Galle Test despite taking a 192-run lead.
India should be very disappointed with the end result in Hyderabad considering the huge advantage they had gained after the first innings of both sides was completed.
#2 They were up against a highly inexperienced bowling attack
Unlike India’s previous Test losses at home in the last 15 years, on this occasion they were up against a highly inexperienced bowling attack. In fact, there were question marks over England’s playing XI after they left out veteran pacer James Anderson and played three frontline spinners, with Mark Wood as the only pace bowling option in the side.
Heading into the game in Hyderabad, leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed had only played one Test, left-arm spinner Jack Leach was the most experienced of the spinners [excluding Joe Root] with 35 Tests, while 24-year-old Hartley was handed his debut. In contrast, India had a highly experienced batting line-up led by Rohit Sharma and also had the home advantage.
On paper, it looked like a David vs Goliath battle. India had everything going for them, but somehow managed to finish on the losing side.
#3 India literally allowed England to get out of jail
After claiming a first-inning lead of 190, India had reduced England 163/5 in their second innings. They should have won the contest from that point, but literally allowed the Englishmen to get out of jail. Of course, Pope deserves all the credit for a fantastic counter-attack that stunned the hosts. But as India’s head coach Dravid candidly admitted after the loss, they were not disciplined enough.
Even at the start of Day 4, India held the upper hand despite Pope’s ton. But for the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar to allow England to reach 420 from 339/7 was hugely disappointing. They haven’t been as lackluster in recent years at home.
The conditions were tailor-made for India’s spinners, but it was Hartley who exploited the same and spun India out to play a massive role in England’s famous win on his Test debut.
