India go down fighting as England draw first blood in Test series

It was a heartbreak for Team India in Hyderabad despite a valiant display from the tail against all odds stacked in the first Test as Ollie Pope’s blistering 196 set the tone right for England, before their bowlers defended a 231-run target to pocket a historic win.

Starting the fourth day at 316/6, Pope continued his charge. The first breakthrough of the day came through Jasprit Bumrah, who got the better of Rehan Ahmed for 28. England found another warrior in Tom Hartley who carved a warring 34, playing the perfect anchor to Ollie Pope’s brilliance.

Fortunately for India, they claimed the final three wickets without conceding a run as England were skittled out for 420, setting a target of 231 runs for the hosts. Pope finished at 196 while Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowling lot with figures of 4/41.

India started on a feisty note as captain Rohit Sharma looked solid for his 39 from 58 balls. However, things went horribly wrong following the departure of the Indian captain and things started seeming bleaker for the Indian contingent as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

A crucial stand of 57 runs between Srikar Bharat (28) and Ravichandran Ashwin (28) for the 8th wicket allowed Team India to push for a late salvage but it was not to be after the leader of the English bowling pack for the day, Hartley, dismissed the duo, leaving the tail to do a herculean job.

Even though Mohammed Siraj (12) and Jasprit Bumrah (6*) did score a few runs, sparking a late bloom of hopes but that wasn’t enough for the job to be done as India fell short of the stipulated total by 28 runs. Ollie Pope won the Player of the Award for his match-winning knock of 196 runs while Tom Hartley finished with figures of 7/62.