India took a first-innings lead of 190 runs against England but ended up losing the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs thanks to vice-captain Ollie Pope's magnificent second-innings knock (196 runs in 278) and debutant Tom Hartley's seven-wicket (7/62 in 26.2 overs) haul. (Scorecard | Highlights)
Chasing a target of 231 runs, India were shot out for 202 all out in 69.2 overs with Hartley fittingly taking the final wicket, that of Mohammed Siraj. Stumped! After the match, India captain Rohit Sharma said that it's "hard to pinpoint where it went wrong. With a lead of 190 we were in control".
This was only the third instance of India losing a Test match after taking a 100-plus first-innings lead. They lost to Sri Lanka after taking a 192-run lead in 2015 (Galle), and to England, after leading by 132 runs in the first innings in 2022 (Birmingham). In fact, 65 was the previous highest first-innings deficit that a visiting team had overturned beat India in India, by Australia in 1964 (Chennai).
Also, the 190-run first innings deficit is the third-highest England have overturned to win a Test match, after 261 in 1894 (Sydney) and 227 in 1981 (Leeds) -- both against Australia. In 2000, England won the Centurion Test despite conceding a 248-run lead against South Africa after both sides agreed to forfeit an innings each (no play on 2nd, 3rd and 4th days).
For England, the Hyderabad win was their 15th in India in 65 matches (with 22 defeats), making them the most successful team of the ten teams that have played the traditional format of the game in India. The West Indies, who have won 14 and lost 13 in 47, however, have the best success rate. Australia are joint-second with 14 wins and 23 defeats in 54 matches.
No other teams have won more than five -- Pakistan's five wins and seven defeats in 33 and South Africa's five wins and 11 defeats in 19. New Zealand have won a couple and lost 17 times in 36 attempts and lost 17 times. Five teams are yet to win a Test in India -- Sri Lanka (13 losses in 22), Zimbabwe (four losses in five), Bangladesh (three losses in three) and Afghanistan (one loss in one) have also played Test.
And interestingly, England's last defeat in a Test series opener in Asia was in 2012, in Ahmedabad against India. They have since won the first match in six Test series in Asia.
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Tom Hartley, the 24-year-old left-arm spinner, is the second debutant to take a seven-wicket haul in India, after John Lever (7/46 in Delhi in 1976). Hartley's 7/62 are the second-best figure for an England spinner on Test debut, after James Langridge's 7/56 against West Indies in 1933 (Manchester).
Ollie Pope, the eventual Player of the Match, surpassed Alastair Cook's 176 in 2012 (Ahmedabad) for the highest second-innings individual score by an England batter in India.
The second India vs England Test in Visakhapatnam starts on February 2. The two teams will head to Rajkot for the third Test. Ranchi and Dharamsala will host the fourth and fifth Test, respectively.
