India v England First Test Review: Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley Script Bazball Miracle

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the edges and sledges cricket podcast on what we are calling the day of comebacks.

[00:00:17] I'm your host Ashwin. I'm joined by DJ as tends to happen with some of these games. It's late night, Var Indian home dominance by a Ben Stokes England side. I mean, I don't even, I just don't even know where to go. What do we start with kind of what happened to DJ? We squandered the largest lead at the home, at the home that India has ever had in a losing cause.

[00:01:40] Second, I think, with the 2001 Eden Gardens obviously being the exception, and in that

[00:01:47] case we won the match, So it doesn't clearly, the absence didn't matter too much, right? Yeah, sure. Bashir, of course, I think born in Pakistan, Pakistan origin wasn't given a visa by the Indian authorities. Or it's now been granted,

[00:03:01] it was delayed. He couldn't make it for some reason, you didn't follow the game and watch it just quickly. England has defeated India at Hyderabad by 20 year runs. It was a little bit of a wild ride to be honest. Early day one when England was batting well, it felt like, oh, this could be a good match. And then when India batted, it felt like, great, this game is going to

[00:04:20] be over. We're going to win by a big margin. England largely, England fans feeling like,

[00:04:25] let's do whatever you can to avoid it. Innings defeat two, batting the nine. And it was, it was the right selection. So let's not argue or get into that. Let's more talk about the game then. Day one, 246 and 64 overs. And then Jess Wall came out with some fireworks. So we had a little bit of, of basketball, if you will, kind of aggressive strike

[00:05:40] rate, just under four and over.

[00:05:42] And then a little bit of Jess ball or whatever we want to call it.

[00:05:45] Jess ball is going to be anything where Jess Wall came and scored

[00:05:47] at 80 or until above and round of ball.

[00:06:43] They just, they picked one C-Mart three full-time spinners, if you will. And then Joe Rutru did more with the ball than the bat in this game.

[00:06:47] But yeah, what were your thoughts on that selection prior to going in?

[00:06:50] Obviously, I'll be honest, I thought it was a little insane, but

[00:06:53] in hindsight, it seems like it worked.

[00:06:55] I mean, I don't know, did C-Raj take any wick itch in this game?

[00:06:57] No, zero, zero for 28 and zero for 22.

[00:07:03] So then argument to play good leap in the next one?

[00:07:05] I was thinking about that, I was gonna he won recently, which was his best win. Maybe I don't know. He said something which was not quite there. But every time it went, it feels like the best win, I think. But it's doing things differently from your predecessors. Right. And that is what this England team seems to do a little bit, which is they said,

[00:08:21] we're going to come and play the reverse sweep.

[00:08:23] I literally laughed and said, did you hang out with Alex?

[00:08:25] Carry like, look don't mind this. And that's problematic in its own way. And actually, before we started recording, you were saying the same in a sense that there's an element of hubris a little bit that came

[00:09:42] into Indian cricket, test cricket at home. And it almost makes you appreciate, call it, I don't know, what is your thought? I feel like it was maybe necessary at home a little, but as much as it's hard to say that. So what I'll say is that I think I've seen that past the eight weekend. Yeah. Because we lost six for none back in South Africa. Yes. Yeah who has no reviews? Because India could always review it. Now it turned out we did and it wasn't a returnable, but do you think that plays into the mind of an ampadon that one team has three reviews left or one has? I don't want to impute Malice and do it, but maybe there is a little bit of that. I don't know.

[00:13:40] Yeah.

[00:13:41] Right.

[00:13:42] But there was also, I mean, they burned their reviews on day one.

[00:13:44] Imagine being in Ben Stokes' position Ben Stokes. Not Stokes as a skipper and obviously, as we'll talk, not Oli Pope. Yeah, and they just come out, bend docket, exact curly, and start smashing it everywhere. Oli Pope, they lose a wicket, Oli Pope then comes in. He does well. Actually, Bumra spell on that third day

[00:15:01] where the spinners were ineffective,

[00:15:02] going at over 500 over,

[00:15:04] it could have been worse for India.

[00:15:06] Yeah. But still... He hasn't played that many tests matches in India, but I mean, he's one of the all-time greats at Varun.

[00:16:22] He remember when we picked our all-time great test 11 for India.

[00:16:27] Bhumra, Varun not a perfect character. Absolutely. But those standards that he said, that if nothing else, you drop a catch, but okay, you go again, the intensity you bring to every ball, you can see, Colleen, the slips would be up every ball. I think we just lacked that little bit of spark. Yeah. The shoulders went down, the runs were flowing, the catches, I mean,

[00:17:43] we could still be sitting here today, Ashwin, if Akshara had taken that catch and if KLA I think Ravel, Ravel was probably miscoated at the end of it saying nobody got 100. I think what he meant was nobody went on and ground the opposition. And now we're saying no, my store was in selfish milestones and all that. He didn't get 600. India should have got 600 in the first ten years. And then just battered England out of the game. That's a very different story. Yeah. So just to wrap, obviously, what happened?

[00:19:01] Phenomenal innings by Ali Pope 420 on the board.

[00:19:04] India needed, I think score the runs, whatever. I'm like, this, I've watched this team for too long.

[00:20:22] It's really hard to chase runs in the final innings in India.

[00:20:25] This is not, I mean, I can think of here, but I want to run a couple by you and get it your sense. It's hard in the moment to know, is this going to be a turning point? That's a comment I just cliched when there's a drop catch or thing like that, is this going to turn fortunes? It felt like there were a few in this match. It starts, like I said for me, Jadeja obviously being given out when he was batting really well,

[00:21:44] and it being an answer.

[00:21:46] He'd been given out twice before as well,

[00:21:48] which he revealed by the way. The lead was only 67. Yeah. But then there's also the, I think they made 80 runs after in their second inning chase. They were 339 for seven, when Ana Amadou was batting really well when he gets out. And you're thinking great. If India can close this out, they'll be chasing 150, 160, all set.

[00:23:02] And then in with, like you mentioned,

[00:23:04] in partnership with Tom Hartley,

[00:23:05] Pope puts up another, gets another like, you know what? With 50 runs to get. And Ashwin and Bharat are still there. Bharat's just coming off a first-plus ton, his first ever. Ashwin has got 500 tests. Ashwin is like the calmest, coolest guy, but like he just needs to give, I mean, Shreya Saiyar disappointing. He needs to give these guys some tips on how to just keep it together,

[00:24:23] like just the way he told the four. say the batting couldn't chase down 2.30 in the last innings and played brush shots. You can also to your point look and say when you had the advantage you didn't like you have to make hay while the sentence you have to like when things are good you have to pile on the pressure and that not making 600 and batting in the game to me was the bigger loss then you know I don't blame the I don't blame the lower order for not being able to chase I blame the high the

[00:25:41] top order which is a different discussion but yeah but but but the question is I'm I've seen this test before. I've seen it before. We've seen this in this match before, where you'd back the spinners to take 10 wickets for 140, 150 and get it done. So, by innings maybe. Or maybe you get England out for 250, come on, just while hit some quick runs and chase down 60 and call it a day. But I think England wanted, that's a good question to ask and obviously India did things wrong too, but I think England did win it.

[00:27:00] And I'm personally excited, you know,

[00:27:02] for the fact that it's a great series.

[00:27:04] Because I can tell you, even Varun was sort of like,

[00:27:06] man, what is, like, why are we putting five tests

[00:27:08] against the team that's not good against spin? It's very easy to sit here on the day and this time of recording this, it's only been a few hours really since the loss happened. So it's very easy to sit here and say, oh my gosh, end of an era panic, etc. Do I think it's truly the end of an era? Probably, I don't know if it's really like no, one loss or a couple of losses does not the end of an era make. However, yes, first series we've been in a very long time without either Pujara or

[00:28:23] Rad.

[00:28:24] And when you add in Virat, I haven't looked at the numbers.

[00:28:25] But I can't remember the last time19 World Cup. I've been following the guy at the left arm, slow level. I mean, undefeated there and big way to go over the US this morning too. So, good potential for the future. So, I don't long answer to your short question.

[00:29:40] I don't think it's the end of an era per se, but it is an important transition of this.

[00:29:44] New keeper playing, not new, but relatively a tough loss to take, I think, this one for the Indian team.

[00:31:01] But we should quickly talk before we move to other stuff on what we think of the, yeah,

[00:31:06] what do we do? Yeah. So, so, so question. I don't think Kill is on notice. I think he's being given a leash to see him as a better of the future. But yeah, I mean, I don't let's say three or four tests of with nothing really to show for it. I think he will be on notice. And then I think the question mark is on Teraj. Bumra clearly showed he's a magnificent bowler in any conditions. But do you do what England did and bring in a fourth spinning

[00:32:24] or spin option?

[00:32:24] If Ash is opening the bowling with the new ball anyway,

[00:32:26] and probably most effective with the new ball, I mean, he took a couple of weekage, but he went for a lot of rounds. Yeah, so Akshar at 9, by the way, is an unbelievable disservice to him. But he went out the order in the second in English. Yeah, so there's a world where you sort of make him ban at 6, even ahead of Bharat more consistently. Bharat 7, Ashwin 8, and then yes, you could play cool deep at 9. But do you still pay Sarajan or are you starting to feel like Saraj for as good a bowler as he's

[00:33:43] been overseas, is not and in ODI, has not been that force in home tests?

[00:33:47] Not yet.

[00:34:43] and you give your bowlers the credit that they don't need a rank turn to get 20 weeks. Yeah, never forget Steve O'Keefe took seven

[00:34:46] weeks in India as well. Oh, eight

[00:34:47] weeks. Yeah. I don't know. Where is he now? Is he? He's not an all-time

[00:34:51] plate, is he? And I'm not saying Tom Harte will fail in the next test match,

[00:34:54] but Tom best did pretty well. England won the last test in the first test in the

[00:34:58] last series as well. This, I think, sets it up beautifully because this goes on till

[00:35:03] March and while I'm not excited about the time zone because it starts super. defeated South Africa by 203 runs with growth. Yeah, he got another 100. Didn't put that. No, that test man got a double. It got a big century and then just again, batted them out of the game. So two wins, two big wins. Both came batting first though. I guess no question that India would win the thousand try to bat first. But yeah, what is your prediction?

[00:36:20] Do you think Jaleidha says South Kool-Dip comes in

[00:36:22] and the rest of the batting stays the same?

[00:36:23] If Jaleidha's injured, he'll, I mean,

[00:36:25] I think Kool-Dip will have to come in. to play for the national side anymore. West Indies team has just defeated the Aussies at the Gabba to tie up a two-series one all. Just tremendous stories coming out of it. You want to quickly recap for us the story of Shamar Joseph? Why come? But he could have also had a job. Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come? Why come?

[00:39:00] Why come?

[00:39:01] Why come?

[00:39:02] Why come?

[00:39:03] Why come?

[00:39:04] Why come?

[00:39:05] Why come?

[00:39:06] Why come?

[00:39:07] Why come?

[00:39:08] Why come? Steve Smith is carrying his bag. We could kind of fall and to be Smith the opener, which is a different discussion, by the way. But we could kind of fall at steady pace. His Cameron Green puts on a good partnership with him. No, but you've forgotten the key part about this in the third innings. Yeah. Joseph Shamar, not Alsari, gets a yorker from Mitchell Stark.

[00:40:21] And retires out, yeah.

[00:40:22] And it's a no-ball as well, that ball, by the way.

[00:40:25] So he'd overstepped in Tranupol at Yokka. the fourth gave his word two balls to play. And there's just something about the ball clipping the top of off stump. That's just. And so this is a large ball to understand. Yeah, top of off stump and then just takes off sprinting. A tremendous celebration. I mean, clearly the Gavin's fortress has now been reached a couple of times in a few years, but

[00:41:43] just tremendous. I mean, I'm just there's like it is where the gabha is like we're underdogs. Yeah. Like India team C. Yeah. Western East team B goes and beats like the world as champion.

[00:43:01] It's insane.

[00:43:02] They're the reigning world as champion and they're like they're they are a full strength.

[00:43:06] They're a full strength side.

[00:44:04] Well, the western is being a collection of national signs. I guess he's got your knees. I guess

[00:44:07] But I mean what a story man like yeah I'm for two guys to take seven first on the same day

[00:44:12] Yeah, and hardly was a debut time this guy's played hit his second test match basically a devu-tote. Yeah, it

[00:44:18] Great. I mean CSK versus Mumbai is great, right? told me that Chamarkar do it. And I had to back him. He's a superstar. So and I also want to call out a friend of the Caribbean cricket podcast because what I've been they have been losing them might just been great. They've had a gap a moment. We had a gap a moment in 2021, right? Yeah.

[00:45:41] 33 years on your birth rate, 19 January.

[00:45:44] We can never forget that. And they've had that gap.

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[00:47:05] next week. By the time we record, we'll probably be mid test match. So we'll see. We might