England’s Test captain Ben Stokes hailed their victory over India in the first Test in Hyderabad as his greatest triumph since assuming the captaincy.
Stokes, who has never lost a Test series as captain, said that although he has won many matches, the victory in Hyderabad is his greatest win as a captain.
We’ve had a lot of fantastic moments as a team, great wins, but given where we are, and who we are playing, I think it’s our greatest triumph since I have been captain.
India has shown they are very strong in red-ball cricket. This was the first time they lost a Test match at home despite having a lead of over 100 runs.
However, Stokes mentioned that before the series began, they were aware of India’s strength on their home ground and the way his team caught up after being far behind shows their commitment and dedication over the past two years.
But we’ve got four Tests left. It’s about backing up this performance now. We know that India are going to come back harder at us. They are an incredibly tough team but if we can keep standing up to them, it’s a good sign for us. We are very proud to be 1-0 up but there is a long way to go.
It should be noted that England won the first Test of the five-match series against India by 28 runs at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, leading the series 1-0.
After struggling in the first two days, England made a fantastic comeback in the match. They first challenged India with their batting where Ollie Pope’s magnificent 196-run innings was the main contribution to the team’s challenging total. Then, they dismissed the Indian team for just 202 runs while they were chasing a 231-run target in the final innings.
The debutant, left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, was outstanding with the ball, taking 7 wickets for 62 runs, leading England to a hard-earned victory.
Also, the English team performed exceptionally in Hyderabad, becoming the first team to score over 400 runs in the third innings against India. The last time this happened was when England scored 406 runs in Ahmedabad in 2012.
This is how you play for the win no matter what the situation is. Pakistani cricketers who lose the match on loosing a mere 2 wickets should be shamed and named.
It was an excellent match in term of performance from both India and England. This is how a test match should be played. Same for Australia/WI’s match.. both test matches pure entertainment.