‘Will not sink in for a while’ – Tom Hartley on his phenomenal debut performance against India in 1st Test

The young English bowler Tom Hartley recently made history as he registered one of the best figures in his Test debut during the first Test match of England’s tour of India. Hartley took Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium by storm as he took nine wickets throughout the game including seven in the second innings while giving away just 131 runs in 25 overs in the first innings. 

Hartley made a dream debut against India and is expected to continue his magnificent performances in the rest of the fourth Test matches. The spin bowler discussed how he is always prepared and cautious considering batsmen come after them during the middle overs,  which made him change his action a little bit during the second innings that gave him instant success against the Indian top order.

Tom Hartley on his sensational debut against India 

In the post-match ceremony, Hartley talked about his spell and said, “It’s unbelievable, will not sink in for a while to be honest. I don’t think there was a lot of help, I had to keep a cool head. It was a tough one (on the first innings bowling effort), it didn’t spin as much as I thought, and I had a chat with Stokes, McCullum and the team management. The dressing room has great vibes, it’s a fantastic dressing room, one of the best. It’s just the Stokes way, just bowl into the surface and we came out on top today.”

“Getting a few runs always helps (on his second innings batting effort), it also helped me get to know about the pitch a lot more. Just unbelievable to be honest. I didn’t have to bowl as fast as I thought (in the first innings), watching Ash and Jadeja, we knew we could take some time – change the length and the trajectory when we bowled for the second time”, he added.