Michael Atherton: England have moved from heavy second favourites to series favourites against India

Ollie Pope’s 196 and debutant Tom Hartley’s fourth-innings 7-62 helped England overcome a 190-run first-innings deficit to beat India in the first Test match, at Hyderabad, by 28 runs and go one-up in the series.

To make things worse for India, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are ruled out of the second game. Key to India’s success at home over the past decade, Jadeja got 87 runs and five wickets at Hyderabad, while Rahul continued with his return to form with 86 and 22. Virat Kohli will also miss the Test match.

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In his column for the Times, former England captain Michael Atherton elaborated on how the scenario has changed since England had arrived in India: “England have moved from heavy second favourites to a situation where it would be a disappointment now if they did not win the series.”

Atherton spoke on the “definite shift in sentiment” after England’s Hyderabad triumph: “Such an outcome, so unexpected and so unbelievable given where both teams were on first innings, must have a huge psychological impact, especially given the quick turnaround and the injuries to two of India’s key players, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. England have an excellent chance of building on their lead.”

He pointed out how England benefitted from Kohli’s absence at Hyderabad: “How significant Kohli’s absence was became apparent during the first Test, given how badly they missed his appetite for big runs, his safe catching at slip, his ability to withstand pressure and his passionate attitude in the field.

“Rohit Sharma is a captain in a very different mould from his predecessor [Kohli] — at once more laid-back, albeit not quite so passive as MS Dhoni. As England began to get ahead in Hyderabad, Kohli’s electric presence in the field, as much as anything, was missed. It would not have been hard to imagine the way he would have tried to whip up the crowd and the way his energy would have been transmitted to others.”

Atherton discussed how significant the absence of Jadeja, “India’s second most valuable cricketer after Kohli,” would be: “India are not only 1-0 down, but are faced with rare uncertainty over the shape and balance of their team.

“Suddenly, it looks full of potential weaknesses. He [Jadeja] has a fine record as an all-rounder – the differential in batting and bowling averages places him in the highest rank – and that balances the team beautifully.

“Washington Sundar, the off-spinning all-rounder who was called into the squad this week, weakens the bowling; Saurabh Kumar, the left-arm all-rounder, weakens the batting, as would Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist spin. All the problems lie with India.”

Atherton also spoke of England’s 2020/21 tour, where they won the first Test match before India won three on the trot to clinch the series: “After England went 1-0 up last time in Chennai in 2021, India’s response was to produce ever more spiteful surfaces, although this England team will not be so fearful should a similar response come this time.”