India v England: 'Our greatest triumph’, says Ben Stokes of momentous first Test victory, hails Ollie Pope

Ben Stokes labelled England’s historic fightback over India in the first Test in Hyderabad as the "greatest triumph" of his stewardship of the team as captain.

An inspired England were victorious by 28 runs, becoming the first team ever to win a Test in India having trailed by 190 or more after the first innings.

Debutant Tom Hartley took 7-62 to skittle India out for 202 after Ollie Pope’s outstanding 196 helped England amass 420 in their second innings.

The combination of Stokes as skipper and Brendon McCullum as coach has revolutionised English cricket over the past two years, but Stokes believes bringing out the best of 'Bazball' in Indian conditions made this victory the best yet.

"We have had a lot of fantastic moments as a team, a lot of great victories, been involved in some amazing games but given where we are, and who are playing, I think it's our greatest triumph since I have been captain,” said Stokes.

“Incredibly proud. We were 190 behind, going into our second at bat. Before the series started, we knew how much of a beast India are at home but the way we responded to being so far behind the game, it was testament to everything we have said and lived and breathed over the last two years.”

Hartley heralded the impact that Stokes and McCullum had in maintaining his confidence for the second innings after he was hit for 131 runs in his first taste of Test action in the first innings.

And Stokes reserved special praise for another key man, Pope, who was returning to the international scene after a shoulder injury ended his Ashes series prematurely last summer.

Stokes said: “I have been lucky enough to play a lot of times with a certain Joe Root on the subcontinent, but I think the situation we found ourselves, with him in coming in at No. 3, some of the shots, I think the whole innings, Ollie Pope's 196, the way he manipulated the field, rotate the strike, I think that's the greatest innings played by an English batter in the subcontinent.”

Pope said being able to put his stamp on a historic victory made his long road to recovery worth it.

“To do it in a winning cause has topped it off today. One of the hardest places to come as a batter, so very proud and special few days,” said the England vice-captain.

“Seven months now [since the injury]. Long days in the gym but these moments make it all worth it. I always had the goal of being fit for this tour.”

The result smashed the record for India’s largest first innings lead in a home Test before going on to lose.

"You got to take your hat off and say 'well played' to Ollie Pope,” said Indian captain Rohit Sharma. "That was some serious knock.

“Exceptional batting, probably the best that I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter.

“I definitely thought 230 was gettable, there wasn't too much in the pitch, but we didn't bat well enough to get to the score."

England may have struck first blood but Stokes is wary that India will come back fighting in the five-match series, with the second Test kicking off on Friday, live on TNT Sports.

“You’ve got to enjoy moments like these but as a group we are very level, we don’t get too high or too low. We've got four Tests left. It's about backing up this performance now.

"We know that India are going to come back harder at us, they are an incredibly tough team but if we can keep standing up to them, it's a good sign for us in the rest of the series.

"It's very early days, we are very proud to be 1-0 up but there is still four games left.”

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