As England crushed India by 227 runs in the opening test at Chennai’s M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday to go 1-0 up in the four-match series, former and current cricketers and sports analysts took to Twitter to gush over captain Joe Root and his team’s incredible performance, terming it “one of the best Test wins” and a “complete victory”.
The hosts, set a daunting 420-run victory target, were bowled out for 192 in the second session of the final day, captain Virat Kohli top-scoring with a fighting 72.
Opener Shubman Gill scored an elegant 50 but India struggled against James Anderson’s (3-17) reverse-swing mastery, while left-arm spinner Jack Leach (4-76) ran through the lower order.
This was England’s sixth successive victory in an away test, including triumphs in South Africa and Sri Lanka.
The win also took India to the top of the World Test rankings.
A huge win over India in the first Test has propelled England to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings 👀#WTC21 pic.twitter.com/8AaC8XMrjr
— ICC (@ICC) February 9, 2021
First to congratulate the team was Cricket England. “WHAT A TEAM PERFORMANCE!!” the body tweeted.
WHAT A TEAM PERFORMANCE!! 🦁🦁🦁
Scorecard: https://t.co/Zd9Sb9W9Or#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/Oaz0gXhYZR
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 9, 2021
Some predicted victory even before it was officially declared as India struggled to pick up runs against a relentless England.
Ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan said it was “going to go down as one of the GREAT England test wins”, praising Joe Root, Ben Stokes and James Anderson for their performance.
This is going to go down as one of the GREAT England test wins … The skipper said before the game the senior pros would have to stand up & perform !!! @root66,@benstokes38 & @jimmy9 have been incredible … This team keep getting better & better … #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 9, 2021
The Australian ‘king of spin,’ cricketer Shane Warne congratulated the visitors on “what will be a good win by England”, also praising Anderson’s “superb” performance.
FYI – as I said yesterday !!!! Congrats on what will be a good win by England. Anderson has been superb 👍 https://t.co/H1PC7XqTc4
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 9, 2021
FYI – as I said yesterday !!!! Congrats on what will be a good win by England. Anderson has been superb 👍 https://t.co/H1PC7XqTc4
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 9, 2021
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen quipped that he had warned India against celebrating after their shocking win in Australia last month.
“India, remember I had already warned not to celebrate too much when you defeated Australia in their home,” he wrote in Hindi.
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1359059768082579456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1359059768082579456%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1606386
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg claimed England had “the better of the conditions and didn’t give that advantage up from day one”.
Hogg, who said he was “loving Test cricket”, predicted that “India will come back hard”.
England had the better of the conditions and didnt give that advantage up from day one. Foundation for a great series. India will come back hard. Loving test cricket, well played both teams. #INDvENG #cricket
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) February 9, 2021
Andrew Miller, UK sports editor for ESPNcricinfo, too was in awe of England’s victory, saying: “What a stunning victory – massive runs, raw pace, reverse swing, incisive spin when it really counted. Sharp catching, and very astute tactics from Joe Root. One of England’s best Test wins in recent memory.”
What a stunning victory – massive runs, raw pace, reverse swing, incisive spin when it really counted. Sharp catching, and very astute tactics from Joe Root. One of England's best Test wins in recent memory #INDvENG
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) February 9, 2021
Sports presenter and cricket commentator Zainab Abbas said the visitors were “becoming good travellers”, calling it an “incredible win”.
