England pulled off a remarkable 28-run victory over India in the opening Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday (January 28).
Coming into the series, all eyes were on England's approach with the bat in hand and whether their aggressive 'Bazball' approach would work on Indian soil. As it turned out, Ben Stokes and his men backed their fearless game to stun the hosts.
Despite conceding a substantial first-innings lead of 190 runs, the visitors fought back as they rode on Ollie Pope’s remarkable century (196) to rack up 420 in their second essay, setting a stiff target of 231 for India.
During the chase, the home side capitulated to be bowled out for 202 in 69.2 overs to go 1-0 down in the five-match series.
Reflecting on the Hyderabad Test, former England spinner Monty Panesar said it was a ‘very big victory’ for the Three Lions while also adding that India skipper Rohit Sharma appeared clueless in the series opener.
“It is a very big victory, no one even imagined this was even possible. Everyone thought that England would lose after a 190 deficit but Ollie Pope had a brilliant inning one of the best innings we have seen in a long time and Rohit Sharma was clueless,” Panesar told news agency ANI.
“India need to stop giving the freedom that the England players are getting,” he added.
Ahead of the series, Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons and Panesar feels India are missing the fierce intensity of the star batter.
“If Virat Kohli was playing he would have been in the faces of these England players and told them ‘Hey, do it again let’s see how good you are’. This is an England team who are not scared of losing, they don’t scare if they lose. In the next four games, they (England) would still play without the fear of failure,” Panesar stated.
“Virat Kohli has that presence and intensity, which is missing currently in the India team. Virat Kohli has that aura and presence. If England win the next Test match then India will be in big trouble. This is a big moment for Rohit Sharma, he needs to show that he can turn around the match without Virat Kohli,” he further remarked.
