After Ollie Pope’s phenomenal 196, debutant spinner Tom Hartley’s seven-wicket led England to a close 28-run win over Rohit Sharma-led India. Chasing a target of 231, India suffered a batting collapse but the partnership between wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin kept them afloat before Hartley got into the act again. Tailenders Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah kept the crowd entertained but Hartley finished the job in the last over of Day 4. England created history as India lost their first Test at home after taking a first innings lead over 100 runs.
Earlier, starting at an overnight score of 318/6, England lost the wicket of Rehan Ahmed early. Jasprit Bumrah got rid of Rehan Ahmed early. He scored 28 runs from 53 balls. Meanwhile, Pope had reached his 150 from 212 balls. Pope started to score boundaries and Tom Hartley joined him as well. The two batters dominated the proceedings. Mohammed Siraj created a chance but Pope's catch was dropped by KL Rahul. He was batting on 186 then. The partnership was broken by Ashwin. They shared an 80-run stand. He scored 34 runs from 52 balls including four boundaries before getting bowled.
In the next over, Ravindra Jadeja got the wicket of Mark Wood for a seven-ball duck. Bumrah wrapped up England's innings and prevented Pope from scoring a double century. Bumrah flattened the off-stump as Pope attempted a reverse-scoop. He scored 196 runs from 278 deliveries featuring 21 boundaries. Pope's 196 is the fourth-highest score by a visiting batter in the second innings in India. His fine knock helped England set a target of 231.
India's run chase got off to a decent start. Skipper Rohit Sharma did the bulk of the scoring while Yashasvi Jaiswal took his time. In the 12th over, Hartley proved that he deserves a spot on this stage. Jaiswal advanced down the track and tried to work it towards the on side. Forward square leg fielder Pope took an excellent reflex catch. He scored 15 runs from 35 balls including a couple of boundaries. In the same over, Shubman Gill on forward defense handed a catch to silly mid-off fielder Pope. He departed for a two-ball duck.
A few overs later, Hartley struck again. Rohit went half-forward to defend but was hit on the pad. He scored 39 runs from 58 deliveries. Axar Patel got a promotion as he walked out to bat at no.5 to counter the left-arm spinner and the leg-spinner. Patel and Rahul looked settled in the middle. In Ahmed's first over, Patel hit three boundaries. After the tea break, Hartley struck again. Patel handed an easy catch back to Hartley. He scored 17 runs from 42 balls. A few overs later, Joe Root got the big wicket in the form of Rahul. He got out lbw for a 48-ball 22. India lost half the side for 107 in the 33rd over.
In the next over, Stokes' brilliance in the field caught Jadeja short of the crease. Jadeja who scored 87 in the first innings had to return to the dressing room after scoring just two runs from 20 balls. Jack Leach got into the action as well. Iyer was drawn forward and he edged it to Root at first slip off Jack Leach's bowling. Iyer scored 13 runs from 31 balls. Ashwin and Bharat brought some calm to the crease in the final session and kept the hosts alive in the run chase. Towards the end, Bharat looked for scoring opportunities. While runs started flowing, Hartley got through Bharat’s defense. He scored 28 runs from 59 balls. In Hartley’s next over, Ashwin went down the track, missed the ball and got stumped. Siraj walked out with an intent to attack. Siraj and Bumrah shared a 25-run partnership but it was not enough to take them over the line. Siraj was stumped for 12 as England won the first Test by 28 runs.
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