England’s debutant, Tom Hartley, the left-arm spinner, bagged a stunning seven-wicket haul on Day 4 of the recently concluded Test series opener against India in Hyderabad.
The spin bowlers of England were burdened to put their side in a commanding position after India required 231 runs to win in the fourth innings.
Tom Hartley, who received a lot of criticism for his ordinary bowling in India’s first innings, improved his bowling by delivering a sensational performance.
The 25-year-old took seven wickets which helped England restrict India to just 202 runs and secure a brilliant 28-run victory in India. Hartley earned widespread praise on social media for his bowling exploits.
Here are some of the top reactions:
He was fantastic, a great comeback, and surely, his contribution to winning a match in India is only going to set him up with confidence for the future.
A player to watch out for this series!
— Tanay Singh Thakur (@TanaysinghT) January 28, 2024
Tom Hartley, I need to apologise. I was not familiar with your game.
— Jord (@jordsufc_x) January 28, 2024
He took trolling seriously..🙏😭
— VJ (@VJsGamer) January 28, 2024
“I didn’t have to bowl as fast as I thought” – Tom Hartley on changing tactics after watching Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bowl
Tom Hartley spoke about how his knock with the bat helped him get a better understanding of the Hyderabad pitch, which proved useful when he came to bowl in the fourth innings.
The debutant revealed that he realized about lowering the pace of the bowling after he saw the Indian spin bowlers Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bowling in the match, He said:
“It’s unbelievable, will not sink in for a while to be honest. I don’t think there was a lot of help, I had to keep a cool head. It was a tough one (on the first innings bowling effort), it didn’t spin as much as I thought, and I had a chat with Stokes, McCullum, and the team management. The dressing room has great vibes, it’s a fantastic dressing room, one of the best. It’s just the Stokes way, just bowl into the surface and we came out on top today.
“Getting a few runs always helps (on his second innings batting effort), it also helped me get to know about the pitch a lot more. Just unbelievable to be honest. I didn’t have to bowl as fast as I thought (in the first innings), watching Ash and Jadeja, we knew we could take some time – change the length and the trajectory when we bowled for the second time,” he concluded.
England have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Ollie Pope was named the Player of the Match for his incredible batting performance.
