It was not merely England’s grit and determination that won them the heated encounter in Hyderabad on Sunday, but also a lack of character from the Indian side as well which played a role, says former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik.
India who were in control for the first three days of the Test match seemingly lost the plot once Ollie Pope began to run riot over the Indian bowlers. Since then, the loss of momentum only carried over onto the fourth day as well where the Indian batters came out timid against the English spinners, allowing the likes of Tom Hartley to wreak havoc over the Indians and clinch a sensational seven-for on his debut enroute to a historic 28-run victory for England.
Karthik talked about how the difference in mindsets between both sides was brought to the forefront and how a certain fear of failure seemed to have hindered the Indian batters from playing their natural game.
“Today, for me, was a very revealing day as to how cultures differ. As we were growing up being Indians, somewhere, the fear of failure is ingrained in us. I genuinely wish all the fans understand why sometimes it can be hard for (Indian) top-order batters to be free in their minds to play shots that they want to play. They want to as well, but the fear of failure just pulls them back a little bit,” Karthik commented on Cricbuzz.
Like aforementioned, Ollie Pope’s stand was the beginning of the end for India, and even Karthik made mention of how the Indian side seemed to have lost all of their steam by the end of the third day when Pope had notched up 146 runs under his belt already.
“A lot of India who watched this Test match got the impression that at the end of Day 3, they were tired and lacked body language. Somewhere, they had been outplayed at different points in time, but India did not have answers to a lot of the questions that England have asked,” said Karthik.
“The intensity which is required sometimes to push on those tough days, yesterday (Day 3) because of what England came up with, I think India did not have answers. The after-effect of that is what we are seeing today,” he exclaimed.
India will surely be looking to exercise their demons and come out stronger to tie up the series in the second Test match of the five-match series, which is set to begin at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on February 2.
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