Edited by Deepali Verma
After India’s 28-run loss against England in the very first Test match of the five-game series on January 28, Rohit Sharma’s side slipped down to the fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. The point percentage of India dropped from 54.16 to 43.33 and is presently in fifth place after Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
The Indian team was having a decent run in the ongoing WTC 2023-2025 as they drew the two-match Test series against South Africa by 1-1. However, their loss against England in Hyderabad saw them drop three spots. During the WTC 2023-2025, India managed to win two, drew one and lost two against South Africa and England in their previous five Tests.
Recapping the first Test match in Hyderabad, Ollie Pope’s Blitzkrieg, and debutant Tom Hartley’s spin had led England to a 28-run victory in the first Test against India held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Pope’s 196 laid grounds for England’s hopes of an unprecedented comeback while the debutant Tom Hartley’s magic with the ball on Day 4 did the trick for the visitors. The slow left-arm orthodox spinner made most of the surface that managed to remain low. He made use of the rough to produce uneven bounce and sharp spin to cause all sorts of trouble to India batters. Hartley’s early inroads continued to ride high on confidence and made an immediate impact after the start of the third session.
India’s gamble of sending Axar Patel at the fifth spot didn’t fetch the expected results. A momentary lapse in the concentration of Axar saw him send the ball right into Hartley’s hands, forcing him to depart for 17.
Root coming in, spun the ball sharply into KL Rahul while trapping him right in front of the stumps. The 31-year-old decided to challenge the on-field decision, but with three reds popping up on the screen, Rahul’s time on the field seemed limited, ending with a score of 22.
The Hyderabad crowd soon fell into silence with first innings hero, Ravindra Jadeja failing to get past the crease after Ben Stokes’s remarkable effort in the field. England for the first time took control of the game taking the fourth wicket of the session while spilling away just 24 runs.
