England 246 (Stokes 70, Bairstow 37, Ashwin 3-68, Jadeja 3-88) and 420 (Pope 196, Duckett 47, Bumrah 4-41, Ashwin 3-126) beat India 436 (Jadeja 87, Rahul 86, Jaiswal 80) and 202 (Rohit 39, Hartley 7-62) by 28 runs

Less than two days after messing up many a travel plan, England pulled off one of their greatest Test wins in front of the raucous Barmy Army and a stunned home crowd in Hyderabad. Of all the ways you envisage winning a Test in India, falling behind by 190 in the first innings, a deficit never before reversed by a visiting team in India, is not one. Yet England did the unthinkable with their most experienced spinner injured, half their side gone before scores were levelled, and did so emphatically even though a hilarious last-wicket stand took India to within 29 runs of their target.

The highest lead India have lost from is 192, in Galle back in 2015. That Sri Lankan win was fashioned by a sweep-filled, adventurous, once-in-a-generation knock from Dinesh Chandimal. Ollie Pope played that role for England, scoring 196 runs full of sweeps, reverse sweeps and reverse Dilscoops, messing up with the lengths of the Indian spinners as if they were match predictions after two days of cricket. The other hero was Tom Hartley, the debutant left-arm spinner who was hit for two sixes in his first over in Test cricket and consigned to one of the costliest analysis for a debutant, who ended up with seven wickets in the second innings.

Starting the day 126 ahead with just four wickets in hand, Pope added 48 to his overnight 148 with crucial assistance from Rehan Ahmed and Hartley. Only five times has 230 or more been chased down successfully in India, but the hosts would have had cause for optimism. Jack Leach, the experienced spinner, was at best hobbling. Hartley, the other left-arm spinner, had been punished for 63 runs in his first nine-over spell in the first innings. Ahmed had been so inconsistent and Mark Wood so unsuited to the conditions that Joe Root had been their best bowler until then.

However, fourth-innings chases follow their own rhythms. Ben Stokes, who captained like a millionaire in the first innings to buy wickets, knew he just needed in-out fields here. Root, Hartley and Leach rose to the occasion despite obvious limitations. And India, unlike England, provided them stationary target, letting them bowl good length over and over again, a luxury not afforded to India's spinners.

You can imagine Pope, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley spent two weeks in Abu Dhabi just practising the various sweeps more than their front-foot defence against spin. They took those chances in the second innings after having got out playing defensively in the first. Pope's execution lasted the longest. Some of the shots were sensational, like his repeat of the reverse Dilscoop off Ravindra Jadeja from Saturday.

It is an indictment of the spinners - world-beaters and two of the greatest of all time - that Jasprit Bumrah was India's best bowler. He got Ahmed early with a reverse-swinging outswinger, and also ended Pope's innings with a slower ball. Between that, though, Hartley and Pope added 80 for the eighth wicket. During that partnership, with Ashwin and Jadeja bowling, India struggled to hold their lengths and the field settings allowed singles everywhere.

It might not be unfair to say that India didn't have a response for the time when unorthodox methods work against them. Pope needed some luck all right, 72 false responses, which is the second-highest for any innings since 2003, but he did do his bit in getting rid of catching men, which reduces the potency of mistakes bowlers induce.

Pope could do what he did because that is the philosophy of Bazball: rather get out reverse-scooping than defending like he did in the first innings. For if he reverse-sweeps, he is playing what he has practised and prepared for. That England had nothing to lose after falling behind by 190 freed him further.

India had none of these liberties. Firstly, they are not natural sweepers forget reverse-sweepers. They also had a home Test to lose, which they rarely do, and never after taking that kind of first-innings lead.

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