Even though they were favored, England humiliated India by winning the opening Test of the five-match series in Hyderabad by a margin of 28 runs. Little Ollie Pope amassed an amazing 196 runs in the second innings, and Tom Hartley, making his debut, deceived India’s batting team by taking nine wickets in the match.
The Indian spin combination of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel was easily defeated by the batting unit, but they won’t be taking anything lightly in the next four games. After losing the first Test, pacer Mark Wood thinks the hosts can turn things around and alter the pitch and circumstances in the upcoming games. He said that since he has experience playing on flat decks, surfaces that aid pacers, and pitches that are spin-friendly, India can manufacture any kind of wicket.
“I have no idea what they’ll come up with. India could score any number of runs in this match. I’ve participated in World Cup and Indian Premier League matches with seaming, level pitches and rotating wickets. They are capable of doing any kind of wicket they desire. We’ve given them something to consider now, though. According to ESPN cricinfo, Mark Wood stated, “It’s not a given that we are going to show up here and they’re going to spin us out.”
Ollie Pope had a terrific knock, and now the 34-year-old said, “They’re going to have to go analyse, like we would do if things didn’t go well, and analyse how they are going to try and combat that.”
We shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves, in my opinion: Mark Wood
Mark Wood anticipates that in the lead-up to the second Test in Vizag, the team will remain composed and focused. He referred to it as a “hell of an achievement” and stated that in order for everyone to reach the same outcome, they must all follow the same methodology.
“We’ve won one game, which is a tremendous accomplishment, but I don’t think we should get too carried away. Don’t get ahead of yourself and declare that we will prevail right now. It’s the same once more. Enter the next game with the same mindset, follow the same procedure, and ideally achieve the same outcome, Wood said.