New Delhi. India lost the first test against England by 28 runs. While chasing the target of 231 runs to win in the match played in Hyderabad, Team India collapsed for 202 runs. England spinner Tom Hartley bowled brilliantly on the fourth day, taking seven wickets and did not allow the Indian batsmen to survive. On the basis of this performance, England made a brilliant comeback after falling behind by 190 runs in the first innings and ultimately gave India a crushing defeat on their own soil. However, India’s defeat in this match can be attributed not only to the English spinners but also to their own gameplay. While reviewing the reasons for the defeat, captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid may find surprising reasons.
The match in Hyderabad started slipping away from India on the third day itself. There were two main reasons that contributed to their defeat against England on this day. The first mistake was India’s batting performance in the first innings. In the first session of the third day, he batted only 11 overs and could score only 15 runs after losing three wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel continued their impeccable batting on the second day as well, but their slow pace did not allow India to take their lead beyond 200. This proved to be a significant error from India’s side in this Test. If we compare the game between India and England, the situation for the English team on the fourth day was similar to that of India on the third day. England started their second innings with a lead of 316 runs and managed to score 104 runs after losing the last four wickets in the first hour of the fourth day. These runs proved crucial in the end.
Another major factor contributing to India’s defeat was the extras given during the bowling in the second innings. India gave away 16 runs through no-balls and six no-balls were bowled. The cumulative effect of these extras was 22 runs. India lost the match by 28 runs, and had their bowling been disciplined and avoided these free runs, there was a possibility that the match could have gone in India’s favour. India bowled six no-balls in total and all of them were credited to Ravindra Jadeja. In contrast, England bowled only three no-balls during the entire match.