Unbelievable, will not sink in for a while, says Hartley

Tom Hartley played a crucial role in England's come-from-behind win in the first Test against India. He excelled as a bowler in India's second innings, ultimately dismissing the last batsman to secure the victory for England. Despite his significant contribution, Hartley expressed disbelief at the win and mentioned that it would take some time for the reality of the achievement to sink in.

Hyderabad: Tom Hartley, who spun his web around India batters, and played a key role in the team's come-from-behind win in the first Test here, said that the victory was unbelievable and it would not sink in for a while. Hartley was the pick of the bowlers in India's second innings and also dismissed last man, to seal a win for England.

"It's unbelievable, will not sink in for a while to be honest. I don't think there was a lot of help, I had to keep a cool head. It was a tough one (on the first innings bowling effort), it didn't spin as much as I thought, and I had a chat with (Ben) Stokes, (Brandon) McCullum and the team management," Hartley said after the match.

He said the England dressing room has great vibes. "The dressing room has great vibes, it's a fantastic dressing room, one of the best. It's just the (Ben) Stokes way, just bowl into the surface and we came out on top today," he added. "Getting a few runs always helps (on his second innings batting effort), it also helped me get to know about the pitch a lot more. Just unbelievable to be honest. I didn't have to bowl as fast as I thought (in the first innings), watching Ash and Jadeja, we knew we could take some time - change the length and the trajectory when we bowled for the second time," he concluded.

For the record, 7 for 62 by Tom Hartley is the best figure for an England spinner on Test debut in the post-war era (since the year 1945) and nine wickets by him in a match is the joint-most since Robert Berry's 9 for 116 vs West Indies in Manchester in 1950.

Meanwhile, player of the match, Olive Pipe, who left the fightback for the visitors, with a valiant 196, admitted that he was lucky in the second innings. "Coming here to India, the toughest place for a batter, to start the series like this, heads and shoulders above the other four (hundreds). I got lucky there in the second innings. I played and missed a few. I was focused on covering the inside edge," Pope said after the match.

He said he had a long time for the series and made a few adjustments. "I maintained that mindset and wanted to be positive with my sweep and reverse sweep. I have changed my technique slightly for this series. I have had a long time to prepare for this series. Made some adjustments and worked hard on my game. The family have had early starts throughout the game, they can finally get some sleep, will be nice catching up," added Pope, who missed a deserving double hundred.

England skipper Ben Stokes termed the win as greatest triumph under his leadership. "Since I have taken captaincy on, we have had a lot of fantastic moments. This victory is probably 100% our greatest triumph. It's my first time coming here and being a captain. I am a great observer of the game. I watched how Indian spinners operated, how Rohit (Sharma) set the field," an elated Stokes said.

"The situation we found ourselves in, the shots he (Olive Pope) played, 190 on such a wicket, he was able to manipulate the field, that's the greatest innings ever played in the subcontinent by an English batter. I don't fear failure, I try to encourage," added Stokes. India skipper Rohit Sharma praised England's batting in the second innings and termed it as exceptional and one of the best he has seen in Indian conditions.

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