IND Vs ENG 1st Test: Tom Hartley Achieves Rare Feat With Stellar Spell Against India
England’s debutant spinner Tom Hartley toppled a couple of records during his match-winning spell against India in the opening Test on Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The left-arm spinner spun India’s batters out and registered a figure of 7/62, and ended the Test with 9/193 which is the best figure for an England spinner on Test debut since 1945.
His nine wickets tally in the first Test in a match is the joint-most since former English spinner Robert Berry’s 9/116 against West Indies in Manchester in 1950. Hartley also became just the fourth England spinner to claim a five-wicket haul on Test debut in this century.
Adil Rashid with 5/64 became the first English spinner to achieve the feat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2015. Will Jacks was the second player to enter the list with 6/161 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022. In the same series, with 5/48 Rehan Ahmed became the third player to enter the list.
The first Test against India witnessed England spinners scalping 20 wickets and pacers ending up walking away without a single wicket. This wasn’t the first time England managed to do so in Test format. Since 1947. the first time England spinners scalped all 20 wickets was against India in Kanpur in 1952.
Four years later, they managed to achieve the feat again but this time it was against their arch-rival Australia in Manchester in 1956. The third time before 2024, when English spinners took 20 wickets in a Test was against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2018.
Coming to Day 4 action, Pope’s blitz helped England set a tricky target of 231. In reply, India batters strived hard after losing a handful of wickets in patches. The lower order showed patience with Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat taking the fight against the spinners. However, Hartley’s spin proved to be a challenge that they could not overcome and ended up suffering a 28-run defeat.