Former England spinner Monty Panesar makes a big claim after victory in 1st Test against India

The 1^st Test between India and England in Hyderabad ended with the hosts facing a shocking defeat by the England team. The Indian team were on top during the first two days of the Test match with a big lead of 190 on the board. It was the following two days where England took the game away from them thanks to an incredible innings from Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley’s great comeback with a 7-fer to bowl out the Indians and win the game by 28 runs in the end. What seemed like a game where the Indians would dominate completely, turned out to be one of the best England victories on Indian soil.

The hero for England in the game was Ollie Pope, who got his game back in the game in the 2^nd innings with a wonderful 196 from 278 deliveries that included 21 boundaries. This was enough to give the Indians a very difficult target going forward in the game. The next man who surprised the hosts completely was the debutante Tom Hartley, who after a disappointing performance in the last innings came back with a gritty 34 with the bat and great figures of 7/62 in 26.2 overs to finally end the Indian innings and win the game for his team.

Panesar makes a big claim

This game has allowed many experts to give their opinions on the series as well and this time it was none other than former England spinner Monty Panesar, who was one of the best spinners for the side in his time with over 160 Test wickets in his 50 games. The 41-year-old former England star has made a huge claim regarding England’s performance in the 1^st Test saying ““If Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley continue to play like this, it will be a whitewash it will be 5-0 for England”. This is immense confidence shown by the Ex -England player in this English team’s performance.

This is one of the best performances by England in a Test match on Indian soil and it will be interesting to see how this series finally pans out. This match is an example of how this England team can surprise you when you least expect it. India will have to make a comeback in the following match after losing a game that was in their grasp early into the game. These are big predictions made by Panesar, which can mean a lot since he was also part of the England team in the 2012-13 season which was the last time England beat the Indians at home in a Test series.