Little did the Indian team know that they would go on to lose the first Test against England which was played in Hyderabad in four days, despite taking a 190-run lead in the first innings. England posted 246 runs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
In reply, India posted 436 runs and the 90-run lead was seen as more than sufficient for an easy win. It looked more likely when Ben Stokes fell as the fifth wicket for a score of 163 runs. But Ollie Pope played a brilliant knock of 196, adding valuable runs with the lower order and took England to 420.
India was set 231 runs to win, but the poor and fearful batting against England spinners proved to be fatal as Tom Hartley’s 7/62 on Test debut routed India for 202 runs and they lost by 28 runs.
England went 1-0 up in the five-Test series and India coach Rahul Dravid admitted that the hosts will have to counter 'Bazball' to make a comeback in the series. India bowlers were rattled by England's unorthodox batting approach that involved executing sweeps, reverse sweeps, and reverse scoops to counter Indian spinners.
“We'll have to counter that (Bazball). I certainly haven't seen it being done that (playing sweeps, reverse sweeps) consistently against that quality of bowlers. You've seen people try that before, and play some exceptional innings. But to be able to play it that consistently and that successfully without making that many mistakes, and maybe one or two odd mistakes, I probably haven't seen it,” said Dravid during his post-match press meet on Sunday.
IND v ENG 2024: Rohit Sharma admits India were not "brave enough" during the chase in Hyderabad Test
Dravid backed his players and hoped that the pair would bounce back sooner than later. But he did not lose sight of the need to get better at execution.
“We have to get more disciplined with where we pitch the ball. We will work on it and we will get better at it as we have some world-class spinners. It's not the first time that they've been challenged. One of the good things about our spinners is that they've always come back,” he added.
The second Test will be played from February 2nd onwards in Vishakhapatnam and Dravid, primarily, wanted his bowlers to regain their lines.
“It's important that we respond. We need to come up with some plans and strategies and see how we can make him (Pope) play those shots from even more difficult lines. We need to be even more disciplined and meticulous with our execution because I thought our execution was a little bit off. Hopefully, in the next Test match if we get our execution right, then I hope he makes a mistake,” said Dravid.
Rahul Dravid also spoke about Ravindra Jadeja’s potential injury. Jadeja walked back clutching his hamstring after being run out while attempting a risky single. Dravid said they will keep a check on the all-rounder with an eye on the second Test.
“We'll see. I honestly haven't had a chance to speak to the physio as yet. Once I get back, I'll speak to him and see what it is about,” he said.
(PTI inputs)
