Pope and Hartley lead England to historic Hyderabad win

In his post-match media commitments, Ben Stokes declared England's 26-run victory over India as the best of the 14 victories from his 19 games in charge. Pundits and commentators speculated on where this win ranked in the list of England's best away wins, putting it alongside Melbourne in 2010 and Mumbai in 2012.

After a torrid first two days, which saw England dismissed for 246 and England's young spin attack be taken apart by India's top order, England was left with a deficit of 190 on the first innings.

Ollie Pope then played one of the best overseas Test innings by an England batter in recent times. His 196 ensured that the 190 deficit was eliminated in its entirety and that all other runs scored contributed to the target that India would have to chase. His use of the reverse sweep as an almost defensive mechanism drew praise in the aftermath from Indian head coach Rahul Dravid as well as teammate Joe Root, who went on to call Pope's innings a 'masterclass'.

The invention and calmness of his innings, which also saw him operate at a strike rate of over 100 against Ravichandran Ashwin, was in stark contrast to the nervy 11-ball 1 that he scored in the first innings.

Tom Hartley had his first delivery in Test cricket dispatched for six and proceeded to go for 131 from his 25 overs. In the first innings, he struggled to control length, which was something that he acknowledged and corrected in the second innings. His 7-62, including the wickets of the Indian top three, ensured that India could not reach the 231 that they had been set.

Hartley had been picked largely due to his potential and high-release point, rather than as a result of his statistical record - a decision that has paid dividends in this match.

One concern for England is Jack Leach, who sustained a knee injury whilst fielding in India's first innings and could be sidelined for the second match in Visakhapatnam. This affected his contribution with the ball and the number of overs he bowled. Rehan Ahmed was also expensive across both innings.

India will be without Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul when the second Test gets going on Friday morning.