India suffered an embarrassing defeat against England in the first Test of the IND vs ENG series at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Despite being considered favourites in their home conditions, India faced challenges. Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook shared his perspective, stating that Team India seemed to panic when confronted with a target above 200. The ex-England opener further emphasised that India appeared ‘at sea’ in coping with England’s aggressive gameplay during their second innings.

Despite being under pressure after giving away a 190-run lead, England responded by playing with positivity. Ollie Pope’s incredible innings of 196 runs played a crucial role in England’s dominance along with Tom Hartley’s nine-wicket-haul in the match as they established a match-winning lead of 230, ultimately winning the Test by 28 runs.

‘They Did Look A Little Bit All At Sea’

In an interview with The Telegraph, Cook expressed his belief that India didn’t anticipate the run-chase to be as challenging and were perhaps not expecting a strong fight from England.

“They didn’t know they were going to chase that fourth innings or tactically stop that England onslaught so they did look a little bit all at sea. I think it shook them. I think when you’re 200 runs ahead and they’re so used to winning games – they’ve only lost three Test matches out of 40-odd at home – suddenly [India thought]: ‘Oh god, oh this won’t happen for much longer.”

‘One Of The Greatest Away Wins’

Alastair Cook went on to label England’s victory in the first Test against India in Hyderabad as one of the greatest away wins or wins anywhere. He highlighted the significance of the win, especially considering England’s challenging position at the end of day two. Cook commended the team’s brilliant effort in defeating India in their home conditions, emphasising the difficulty of such an achievement.

“I think it’s probably one of the greatest away wins or wins anywhere considering where they found themselves at the end of day two. But also just in general to beat an Indian side like that in their home conditions, we know how hard it is. It was a brilliant effort,” The Telegraph quoted Cook as saying.

India will square off against England in the 2nd test of the India vs ENgland series on February 2 (Friday) at Visakhapatnam’s Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium.