In Hyderabad, England produced an incredible comeback to win the first Test against India by a margin of 28 runs. Tom Hartley, debutant left-arm spinner, demolished the opposition lineup in the second innings by taking seven wickets. Tom Hartley bowled to a particular plan and wasn’t afraid to pitch the ball up.
However, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the opening batsman for India, gave him the worst introduction to Test cricket in the first innings when he hit him for a six off the very first delivery. Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley of England talked about his thinking process after getting hit for a maximum off his first ball in Hyderabad during a Test match against India.
In the last session of Day 1, Hartley bowled the second over of the visitors’ bowling spell after they had scored 246 in their first innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal, a promising opener for India, slog-swept Tom Hartley off his first delivery at deep mid-wicket, and even let up another six in the over.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is not the first, and he won’t be the last – Tom Hartley
Furthermore, Tom Hartley acknowledges that Yashasvi Jaiswal won’t be the only batter in his career to hit him for a six off the very first ball, and that he will encounter more of such situations in future also. Following the first Test, Hartley discussed his mindset, which ESPN Cricinfo cited as follows:
“He’s not the first, and he won’t be the last! As a spinner, people are going to come after you. I’m fine with it if people want to come after me. I sort of have to go into a different mind-set. You look back at the ball and you think it wasn’t a bad ball. If that’s the way they want to play, you’ve just got to play with it,”
I just slowed it down and kept it simple, and it seemed to work- Tom Hartley on changes he made during the second innings
Nevertheless, Hartley orchestrated an incredible comeback from his awful first innings performance to virtually bowl India out in the final innings. According to assistant coach Jeetan Patel’s suggestion, he talked about the adjustments made in between the two innings.
“When you’re playing for the first time you just run up that bit quick. And you think, well, just slow things down, let your action do the work. When I run in quick, I just tend to lose my action a bit. I just slowed it down and kept it simple, and it seemed to work,” he reflected.
Following a disastrous first innings where he conceded 131 runs in 25 overs for just two wickets, Hartley struck for 7/62 in the second innings to enable England pull off an incredible victory. England came back from a 190-run deficit to win the first match by 28 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
They’re just such a great combo and bring so much confidence to this team- Tom Hartley on the Stokes-McCullum duo
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum were commended by Tom Hartley for their willingness to try new things and for giving the English players the highest level of confidence.
The team hasn’t looked back since the pair assumed leadership roles as captain and coach in the middle of 2022, following a terrible time in Test cricket. Under their leadership, England has won 14 of the past 19 Test matches and has not yet lost a series.
“I’ve watched a bit, and they’ve done some rogue things. That’s just the way they are, and after being in this Test match, I’m all aboard. Even before, I was happy with it, I was all in anyway. They’re just such a great combo and they bring so much confidence and life to this team,” he said.
The left-arm spinner also confessed that he expected to have limited game time on the Indian tour but was looking forward to playing a larger role.
“Coming out here, I was just looking to get a game or a couple of games. I might have a big role, but I’m more than ready for that. I want more of it,” he concluded.
In addition to his outstanding bowling performance in the second innings, the young player showed promise with the bat, scoring 23 and 34 runs in the two innings. On February 2, the second Test match between India and England will take place in Visakhapatnam.