Tom Hartley described his match-winning performance as “unbelievable” after one of the greatest overseas wins in England’s history.
The left-arm spinner claimed a magnificent seven to down India in the first Test at Hyderabad and complete a classic comeback.
Earlier in the match Hartley had seen his first ball as a Test cricketer launched for six, but he showed huge reserves of steel to bounce back with stunning figures of seven for 62 in the fourth innings to seal a dramatic 28-run victory.
The unheralded 24-year-old, selected for this trip as a hunch pick, came into the match with a career-best haul of five for 52 for Lancashire and left it a hero after he wrapped up the last wicket in the final over of the fourth day.
Hartley told TNT Sports: “It’s unbelievable, it’s not going to sink in for a while I think. I’m over the moon to be honest.”
Hartley’s second-innings performance was a turnaround from the first innings, where he picked up two wickets for 131 runs, but he praised the England coaches for their support.
He added: “It was really tough out there, it didn’t spin quite as much as we thought (in the first innings) but testament to the coaches, (Ben) Stokesy and Baz (Brendon McCullum), they really got around me and I lost no confidence really.
“I was able to come out and do my best out here. It’s fantastic in that dressing room we can have a great day, have a really bad day and it’s the same vibe in there.
“They’re always ultra-positive and it’s a fantastic dressing room, one of the best I’ve been in to be honest.”
Hartley also contributed with the bat, scoring 34 runs as England set India a 231-run chase.
Speaking about his batting, Hartley said: “Obviously I was really nervous to start, but getting a few runs always helps so I put my nervousness at ease a bit and I found out a few things about the pitch which helped with my bowling as well.”
England looked on course for a thumping defeat after conceding a 190-run first-innings deficit but refused to back down with bat or ball and condemned India to just a fourth home defeat in over a decade.
Ollie Pope provided the platform with a heroic 196, leaving India with a tough chase of 231 on a worn pitch, and with lead spinner Jack Leach restricted by a knee injury Hartley stepped up in unforgettable fashion.
India captain Rohit Sharma praised Pope’s 196, describing it as “a brilliant knock” and believes his side did not bat well enough to reach the target.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sharma said: “The cricket has been played over four days, so hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong.
“Obviously having the lead of 190 we thought we were very much in the game, but exceptional batting, probably one of the best I’ve seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter, Ollie Pope played a brilliant knock.
“I thought 230 was getable. There wasn’t too much in the pitch, but obviously we didn’t bat well enough to get to the score.
“When you finish the day you analyse what went well, what didn’t go well and things like that. You’ve got to take your hat off and say well done to Ollie Pope, that was some serious knock that.”
IPL: Fraser-McGurk leads the way as Capitals hold off Mumbai
Delhi Capitals withstood Mumbai Indian’s late surge and held on for a 10-run victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Jake Fraser-McGurk top-scored with 84 – hitting 50 off just 15 balls – while Tristan Stubbs (48) and Shai Hope (41) also chipped in with important contributions as the Capitals set a target of 258.
Mukesh Kumar (3/59) and Rasikh Salam (3/34) did their best to halt Mumbai’s revival, but they turned up the pressure to require 25 runs from the final over.
However, despite Luke Wood and Piyush Chawla’s best efforts, Delhi held out for a second successive win.
Data debrief
Wood almost made amends after conceding 68 runs during the opening innings – the joint-most in the IPL this season, matching Reece Topley’s tally against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Tilak Varma led Mumbai’s attempted revival with 63 for his sixth half-century in the IPL, though they have all come in defeats
Chase outdone by opposite number Paudel as West Indies A suffer four-wicket loss to Nepal
West Indies A’s tour of Nepal got off to an unfortunate start, after they suffered a four-wicket loss to their host in a high scoring opening fixture of their five-match Twenty20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, on Saturday.
Set a formidable 204 by West Indies A, Nepal’s thrilling victory, which was set up by a captain’s knock from Rohit Paudel, etched their names in the history books, as they successfully got to their target at 206-6 with two balls to spare.
Paudel smashed a 54-ball 112, including 10 fours and two sixes to see his team to a 1-0 lead in the series, which West Indies Head coach Darren Sammy said offers his team a chance to define roles and personnel more clearly for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad.
However, the Caribbean side’s all-round effort was found wanting, as only captain Roston Chase (74), Alick Athanaze (47) and Keacy Carty (38) offered any resistance with the bat, while only Obed McCoy (2-34) and Matthew Forde (2-49) had some semblance of success with the ball.
Scores: West Indies A 204-5 (20 overs); Nepal 206-6 (19.4 overs)
Asked to take first strike, after losing the toss, West Indies A suffered an early blow, as they lost Johnson Charles (zero) off the last ball of the opening over, with 16 runs on the board. Andre Fletcher (13) stuck two sixes off five balls, before he too departed via the run-out route, leaving West Indies A at 43-2 in the fourth over.
However, Athanaze went about business, striking three sixes and five fours in a 25-ball knock, as he put on 43 for the third wicket with Chase, prior to his demise. From there, Chase and Carty added another 60 runs in a fourth-wicket stand that defined the innings.
Carty’s 38 off 26 balls, included two fours and three sixes, while Chase, who anchored the innings with a captain’s knock, struck nine fours and two sixes in his 46-ball 74. Kadeem Alleyne, on 14, and Keemo Paul, one, were left not out.
No Nepal bowler took more than one wicket.
With runs on the board, West Indies A would have felt confident of wrapping up a win, even more so, after Forde and McCoy combined to remove openers Anil Sah (five) and Kushal Bhurtel (16) to have Nepal at 38-2 in the fifth over.
West Indies remained in the ascendancy when Fletcher and Charles combined to run out Kushal Malla (16), leaving their host on the ropes at 82-3 at the halfway mark.
However, Paudel showed class, in not only reviving his team’s innings, but pushed them all the way with some aggressive stroke play, assisted by wayward bowling from West Indies A attack at times. Dipendra Singh Airee (24) offered support to his captain in getting Nepal across the line for a famous victory.
Bairstow hails 'ballistic' Kings after record IPL run chase
Jonny Bairstow saluted "ballistic" Punjab Kings following their historic Indian Premier League victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
The England batter scored an unbeaten century as the Kings successfully chased down 262 - the highest in T20 history - with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow hit a wonderful 108 not out from 48 balls - with nine sixes along the way - while Shashank Singh chipped in with 68 from 28 deliveries as the Kings ended their four-game losing streak.
"We knew that we had to go ballistic after how they batted," said the 34-year-old, who made his second IPL century five years after his first. "We had to take risks, and thankfully they came off.
"I've never been faced with a target like that before. So, we knew the powerplay would be important, and if anything is close to being in your area, you've got to make the most of it."
The performances of Bairstow and Singh contributed towards further history, with the overall tally of 42 sixes the highest recorded in a single T20 match.
"Cricket has turned to baseball, hasn't it?!" Punjab skipper Sam Curran added. "Guys can hit balls for long periods of time, the coaches, training, the dew, dot balls become wide after reviews and you get the extra ball. Stats are going of the window."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was left disappointed to see his side's impressive haul overturned, but urged his team-mates to learn from the experience.
"Both teams played tremendously. You have to go back to the drawing board and see where you went wrong," he said. "Not defending hurts, but it's a great lesson for the players."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
