Rohit Sharma, India skipper, observed that the team should have played with more of a positive mindset after they hurtled to a heartbreaking 28-run loss in the opening Test against England in Hyderabad.
“Overall, we failed as a team. You need to be brave enough, which I thought we weren’t,” he said in the post-match presentation. “We wanted to take some chances, we didn’t take chances with the bat. But that can happen. It’s the first game of the series, I hope the guys can learn from that,” he added.
At the same time, Rohit heaped praises on Ollie Pope for composing a brilliant 196 in testing conditions. “Exceptional batting, one of the best I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter, Pope played a brilliant knock. We bowled in the right areas. The bowlers executed the plans really well; you have to take your hat off to Pope and say well played.”
Meanwhile, reflecting on the famous win, Ben Stokes said, “This victory is 100% our greatest triumph. The England Test captain also noted that he took a leaf out of Rohit’s book, which helped him in the fourth innings. ‘It’s my first time coming here and being a captain. I am a great observer of the game. I watched how Indian spinners operated, how Rohit set the field.”
Stokes was also pleased with the contributions of Tom Hartley and Ollie Pope. He even went on to say that Pope’s hundred was the greatest innings ever played in the subcontinent by an English batter.
“Absolutely thrilled for everyone. Hartley to get nine wickets and Pope after his shoulder surgery. Tom came into the squad for the first time. A lot of confidence given. I was willing to give him longer spells. We completely back people who we have selected.
“The situation we found ourselves in, the shots he played, 190 odd on such a wicket, he was able to manipulate the field, that’s the greatest innings ever played in the subcontinent by an English batter.”
Pope, on the other hand, didn’t have any sort of hesitation in rating his innings of 196 as the best in his career so far. “100 percent (best knock). Coming here to India, toughest place for a batter, to start the series like this, heads and shoulders above the other four (hundreds).
“I got lucky there in the second innings. I played and missed a few. I was focused on covering the inside edge. I maintained that mindset and wanted to be positive with my sweep and reverse sweep,” he noted.