England have taken a 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series in India and Michael Vaughan thinks that the home team was let down by the ‘average’ captaincy of Rohit Sharma in Hyderabad.
England were chasing the game after the opening two days of the Test with India taking a first innings lead of 190 runs but the tourists bounced back to pocket the contest in four days.
“In India’s first-Test defeat in Hyderabad I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he manoeuvred his field or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he didn’t have any answer to Ollie Pope’s sweeps or reverse sweeps,” Vaughan wrote on his column for The Telegraph.
Also Read: How a Dynamic England Got the Better of a Passive India
England’s win has left Vaughan mighty pleased, so much so that he’s termed it as the ‘finest Test’ win of his lifetime.
Defying the predictions and overcoming their average show on the opening two days, England went on to beat India by 28 runs thanks to superlative performances from Ollie Pope, who missed out on a double-century by four runs, and Tom Hartley, who took a seven-wicket haul in India’s second innings.
Vaughan, who led England in 51 out of 82 Tests he played during his international career, says the team has some sensational away wins but their latest triumph tops them all.
“Beating this India team away is simply the finest England Test match victory of my lifetime. There have been some sensational England away wins over the years. But what England have just done in Hyderabad tops them all: it’s number one for me,” Vaughan wrote.
This is only the third time in their Test history that India have lost a match after taking a lead of over 100 runs in the first innings. The first instance was in Galle Test of 2015 and the second at Edgbaston in 2022.
“No one does that to India in their backyard. Look at what England have overcome. India are one of the finest Test teams ever at home. The wicket had real turn. And England had a first-innings deficit of 190 runs. India have never lost a Test at home when conceding such a big lead – it’s really incredible what England have achieved. It is the best win full stop – at home or away – in all the time I have been involved in English cricket,” Vaughan said.
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