England's Ben Foakes terms Indian wickets 'horrific'

| 2025-01-16 05:58:29

The second Test will begin in Visakhapatnam on February 2

Ben Foakes during the first Test against India. — AFP

England’s wicketkeeper batter Ben Foakes declared the pitch during the first Test against India at Hyderabad as “horrific”.

England recorded a stunning 28-run win in the first Test after making a comeback following a poor display during the first two days.

Foakes, who scored 38 runs across innings, stated that the first Test was horrific as everyone in the team was just finding ways to stay on the crease.

"Going into that, I was thinking, 'These are horrific wickets - I just need to find a way to stay in.' I think now the group is more, if that's the situation, you've got to be positive; got to put it [pressure] back on the bowler and put them under pressure," said Foakes.

"Before, there was more of a fear of getting out and that put us in our shells. Whereas now it's not worrying that you are getting out and accepting that you probably are on those sorts of surfaces. But how can you actually go and dominate at times as well?”

In the first Test, debutant Tom Hartley wreaked havoc with the ball as he clinched seven for 62 runs and guided England to a hard-fought win.

England's skipper Ben Stokes opened up after the match and declared the win in Hyderabad his "greatest triumph".

"We've had a lot of fantastic moments as a team, great wins," Stokes said. "But given where we are, and who we are playing, I think it's our greatest triumph since I have been captain."

That was the first time India lost a Test match at home after taking a 100+ runs lead.

BazBall arrived in full flow in Hyderabad as England became the first visiting team to score 400+ runs in the third innings against India. The previous team to do this was England as well as they scored 406 in Ahmedabad in 2012.