India Vs England, 1st Test: Ollie Pope, Tom Hartley Hand Visitors A Vital 28-Run Win At Hyderabad; IND - 436 & 202, ENG - 246 & 420 - As It Happened

England Beat India By 28 Runs In The First Test. Ollie Pope's 196 and Tom Hartley's seven-for was the catalyst for England's dominant win in the first Test by 28 runs. Despite the lower-order resistance showed by India's batters, England's spinners were all over India led by the youngster Hartley. The day when Shamar Joseph picked up seven wickets, Hartley followed it up with his own effort. For India, the failures for Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will be much talked about as they look to rejig and rework their plans for the second Test. Follow the highlights of the IND vs ENG Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, January 28, 2024, here. (Scorecard | Streaming)

8:50am: Preview

If the first two days belonged to India, the third one was a shared affair, perhaps even a tad askew in England's favour. Ben Stokes' team first relied on Joe Root's off breaks to cheaply dislodge the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal and the tail, letting the home team add just 15 more runs to their overnight lead of 175 runs. 

And then we finally saw some Bazball in action, and actually working. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett started the innings solidly with a quickfire 45-run stand, but Ravichandran Ashwin struck to keep things interesting. It took some unplayable deliveries from pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin to prise out the middle-order batters, including anchors Root and Stokes. 

But eventually it was an Ollie Pope show, as the 26-year-old batted resolutely to defy India all day with the innings of his life. The stylish right-hander is unbeaten on 148, and looking good for more. The new ball is due soon, though, and it remains to be seen whether India will go with pace or spin. We will find out soon.

Teams (Playing XIs):

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.

As happens so often, Jasprit Bumrah has provided India the breakthrough they needed. The India pace spearhead did not need the new ball to make an impact as he snared Rehan Ahmed with an away-going delivery. The partnership is broken, and debutant Tom Hartley is now out in the middle alongside Ollie Pope, who is still going strong at 158 not out.

Ravindra Jadeja first removed Mark Wood with a turner. Bharat took a fine catch from behind the wickets. England were nine down and Ollie Pope was on strike with 196 runs. Pope tried to play a reverse scoop on Bumrah's slower delivery but couldn't judge the pace of the ball. The ball kept low and went straight into the wickets. England all-out for 420 runs in the second innings. They have a 230-run lead in the match.

Ollie Pope has played a remarkable knock in Hyderabad to help England set a 231-run target for India. With five sessions still left in the game, time will not be an issue for the Indian team. They have plenty of overs but only 10 wickets. The nature of the wicket is unpredictable. India will have to start cautiously and players have to take responsibility. The second session will start at 12.02 PM. 

Highest individual scores in second innings by visiting batters in India
232*Andy Flower Nagpur 2000
225 Brendon McCullum Hyderabad 2010
198 Garfield Sobers Kanpur 1958
196 Ollie Pope Hyderabad 2024
188*Saeed Anwar Kolkata 1999

11:30 AM: Brief Score: ENG - 420/10 (102.1)
Ollie Pope - 196 (278),  Ben Duckett - 47 (52)  |  Jasprit Bumrah: (16.1-4-41-4)

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the Indian batting. England started with a spinner and Joe Root was given the ball to bowl the first over. Rohit took the strike and played for a single on the third delivery. Jaiswal defenced the rest deliveries.

IND - 1/0 (1)

India lost two wickets in quick succession as Tom Hartley first dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and then Shubman Gill two balls later. Both batters holed out to Ollie Pope who took both catches easily. Jaiswal played the ball at fine short leg where Ollie Pope completed the catch. Two balls later, Pope was shifted to silly mid-off and the ball chased him there. KL Rahul has joined Sharma at the crease.

IND - 42/2 (12)

India lost three wickets in the second session as KL Rahul and Axar Patel set their eyes on the pitch. India still need 136 runs to win this match. Axar and Rahul have hit three boundaries each in their respective innings so far. India were at 95/3 when the Umpires called for the Tea break.

A soft dismissal and Tom Hartley struck right after the Tea break. Hartley has taken his fourth wicket and is on a roll; Axar is mortified as he walks away, and India is in even more difficulty. Was neatly put up on off, Axar was shaping for the drive, but the ball fell into him and he inside halves it back at the bowler - a simple catch that Hartley gladly accepted. England are presently behind by six wickets.

IND - 95/4 (30)

KL Rahul was found right in front of the wickets when Joe Root's delivery hit him on the pads. The umpire gave that out. But KL reviewed it and it was three reds. India lost their review and are five down now. Ravindra Jadeja joined Shreyas Iyer at the crease.

IND - 107/5 (33)

Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin have rebuilt innings. The duo respected the good balls and punished the bad ones which came in their way. England bowlers need just three more wickets but the duo have been successful in keeping them away from that.

IND - 140/7 (51)

Tom Hartley's 7/62 led to India's downfall as Ben Stokes-led England beat India by 28 runs in the 1st Test at Hyderabad. Chasing a target of 231 to win, Indian batting collapsed like nine pins as Hartley, who was taken to the cleaners in the first innings, made up with a match-winning figures.

The 2nd Test starts on Friday, Feb 02 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Catch you till then. Bye!

6:01 PM: Player Of The Match - Ollie Pope

100 percent (best knock). Coming here to India, toughest place for a batter, to start the series like this, heads and shoulders above the other four (hundreds). I got lucky there in the second innings. I played and missed a few. I was focused on covering the inside edge. I maintained that mindset and wanted to be positive with my sweep and reverse sweep. I have changed my technique slightly for this series. I have had a long time to prepare for this series. Made some adjustments, worked hard on my game. The family have had early starts throughout the game, they can finally get some sleep, will be nice catching up.