England cricket team skipper Ben Stokes produced an impressive reverse flick while fielding to complete a fantastic run-out of India batter Ravindra Jadeja on Day 4 of the first Test match in Hyderabad on Sunday. It was an extremely important wicket for England as Jadeja looked in brilliant touch in the first innings but he had to depart after scoring just two runs in the second innings. The left-hander played a delivery from Joe Root to mid-on and went for the single. However, Stokes collected the ball in a flash and his reverse flick resulted in a direct hit leaving Jadeja just short of the crease in spite of his athletic prowess.
You are kidding me Ben Stokes pic.twitter.com/Xlw3hzp3G2
— SmallClone (@Smallclone_) January 28, 2024Former India spinner Murali Karthik called Stokes' fielding effort 'sheer brilliance' on commentary.
Debutant spinner Tom Hartley took seven wickets as England pulled off a dramatic 28-run upset win over India marked by a stellar batting performance by Ollie Pope in the opening Test on Sunday.
"Since I've taken the captaincy on... it's 100 percent our greatest victory," England skipper Ben Stokes said.
Chasing 231 for victory, India were bowled out for 202 in the final over of an extended third session of play on the fourth day in Hyderabad, as Hartley got Mohammed Siraj stumped with his left-arm spin to trigger celebrations from the England camp.
Pope stood out with his 196 to bring England bouncing back from being 190 behind at the start of their second innings to lead the five-match series 1-0.
Hartley, who got his five-wicket haul after he bowled wicketkeeper-batsman K.S. Bharat, kept coming back to return figures of 7-62 and a match tally of nine wickets.
"It's unbelievable," Hartley said after the match, adding that the win was "not going to sink in" for some time.
"I'm over the moon", he added.
India came into the high-profile encounter as favourites on home soil, with an unbeaten Test series record since 2012 when Alastair Cook's England beat them 2-1.
(With AFP inputs)