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Test skipper Ben Stokes named England's first Test triumph over India on Sunday in Hyderabad as their "greatest victory."
Since Stokes assumed the role of England's Test skipper in 2022, the Three Lions with Brendon McCullum at the helm gave birth to 'Bazball' which took the red ball cricket by storm. With 'Bazball' against spin a constant theme of the five-match series, England emerged victorious in the opening battle at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Their 28-run win saw some inspiring individual performances both with the bat and ball. After the game, Stokes didn't shy away from labelling their success in Hyderabad as the greatest they have achieved since he took over the captaincy role. "Since I've taken the captaincy on, where we are and who we're playing against, it's 100 per cent our greatest victory," Stokes said after the game. Ollie Pope with his reverse sweep and 196 unravelled India's experienced spinners and laid the foundation of an unprecedented comeback. With the ball, debutant Tom Hartley, earned the plaudits as he ran through India's batting set-up and ended with the figure of 7-62. "Absolutely thrilled for everyone, Tom Hartley nine wickets, Ollie Pope first Test back after shoulder surgery. Tom came into the squad for the first time, he's heard a lot and had a lot of confidence [instilled]. I was willing to give him a long spell regardless of what happened [in the first innings]. Whether that was the reason he got seven wickets and won us the game, who knows? [Pope] Seen some special innings from Joe Root, but the whole innings on a difficult wicket, for me that's the greatest innings by an Englishman on the subcontinent," Stokes added. Coming to the day's action, Pope's blitz helped England set a tricky target of 231. In reply, India batters strived hard after losing a handful of wickets in patches. The lower order showed patience with Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat taking the fight against the spinners. However, Hartley's spin proved to be a challenge that they could not overcome and ended up suffering a 28-run defeat. (ANI)
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