India’s head coach Rahul Dravid stated that the team’s inability to take full advantage of ideal batting conditions in their first innings led to their defeat in the opening test against England. India scored 436 in response to England’s first-innings total of 246, giving them a substantial lead of 190 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
England, led by player-of-the-match Ollie Pope’s remarkable 196, managed to post 420, setting India a challenging target of 231 on a turning track. Debutant spinner Tom Hartley took 7-62 to dismiss India for 202, helping England go up 1-0 in the five-match series.
After India’s loss in an extended final session on the penultimate day, Dravid remarked, “It was always going to be challenging to chase 230 on a fourth-day wicket which was turning. I thought we probably had 70 runs less on the board in the first innings when conditions were pretty good to bat in on day two.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal (80), KL Rahul (86), and Ravindra Jadeja (87) missed out on centuries, while Axar Patel and Srikar Bharat failed to reach fifties. “I thought in those kinds of situations we got ourselves into some good starts but we did not truly capitalize,” Dravid, the former India captain, said. “So in some ways, we left those 70-80 runs back in the first innings… I’m a little bit more disappointed with our first innings.”
While Pope exhibited expertise in playing spin using his feet and frequently employing the sweep and scoop shots, several India batters appeared uncomfortable against the turning ball. Dravid attributed this to their lack of first-class cricket exposure. “A lot of these guys play a lot of white-ball cricket and don’t get a lot of time to play first-class cricket. But they are learning, they are getting there.”
Dravid commended Pope’s outstanding performance, noting, “It’s one of those games where you… come out and give your best and if somebody does something exceptional, you shake his hand and congratulate him. And for me that is important.”
The second test in Visakhapatnam is set to begin on Friday. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Hyderabad; editing by Clare Fallon)
