England newcomer Tom Hartley hopes the fairytale finish to his Test debut persuades India to “put a bit more respect on my name”.
The left-arm spinner, who was fast-tracked into the side after just 20 first-class games, played a starring role in a famous win at Hyderabad with second-innings figures of seven for 62.
That capped an emphatic shift in fortunes for the 24-year-old, who had earlier suffered a nightmare start when Yashasvi Jaiswal clubbed a solid first delivery in Test cricket for six.
More of the same followed just three balls later and his initial nine-over spell came at a princely cost of 63. While some may have been concerned over his readiness for the big stage, there was nothing but support from his team-mates.
He went on to pay that back quicker and more dramatically than anybody could possibly have anticipated and now travels to Visakhapatnam with a spring in his step and a point proven.
“I was so nervous that first day…so to come and out in the fourth innings and do what I did, hopefully they can put a bit more respect on my name and go forward from there,” he told BBC Sport.
“I’ve been hit for a lot of sixes in my career, so I don’t let these things get on top of me. It was more frustration of ‘why me? why am I getting picked on?’.
“The background that I’ve had is to not let yourself get down. I just want to be a fighter and throw some punches back.”
Hartley explained how his grounding in limited-overs cricket, including as an opening option for Manchester Originals in the Hundred, allowed him to compartmentalise his brutal welcome from Jaiswal.
“He’s not the first and he won’t be the last,” he told reporters.
“You look at the first ball and it wasn’t a bad ball. If that’s the way they want to play you’ve just got to play with it.
“Thankfully I’ve had this white-ball background and, even playing in the Championship this past year, lads have come after me. You’ve just got to accept it. I’m fine with it if people want to come after me.”
Hartley, whose local club Ormskirk CC opened up to offer free drinks to members in honour of his achievement on Sunday, progressed from relative unknown to marked man at breakneck speed.
How India choose to combat him in the second Test promises to be an intriguing sub-plot but one thing he knows he can rely on is the full backing of captain Ben Stokes.
The England skipper won plaudits for the way he kept his rookie involved after his difficult introduction, publicly showing his faith where others might have taken defensive measures.
“The confidence that he has, the way he just builds you up, there’s no negative thoughts,” said Hartley.
“After that first innings it was real tough for us and, personally, I didn’t bowl the way I really wanted to. But it’s all positive, if you’ve not bowled great it’s, ‘Right, what can we do better in the second innings?’ He brings so much confidence and life to this team.”
While Hartley’s stock has never been higher, there is an elephant in the room when it comes to his Lancashire prospects next season. The Red Rose have signed Australia’s Nathan Lyon on an overseas deal for 2024, with the off-spinner expected to be available for the majority of the season.
England would be disappointed if that hinders the progress of their latest find but the man himself has a better idea.
“I highly doubt (Lyon will miss out) so I hope we’re playing together, that would be fantastic,” he said.
IPL: Royals downed by big-hitting Capitals
Rajasthan Royals failed to chase down the Delhi Capitals, who claimed a 20-run victory in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson struck 86 off 46 balls for the second-placed Royals, but the Capitals successfully defended their haul of 221.
Jake Fraser-McGurk's 20-ball 50 set the tone for the Capitals, who are well in the play-off hunt with two matches remaining.
Fellow opener Abishek Porel plundered 65, with Tristan Stubbs adding a useful 41 towards the end of the innings, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-24) the only Royals bowler to do significant damage.
Kuldeep Yadav (2-25) and Mukesh Kumar (2-30) led the way with the ball for Delhi, with the latter taking the vital wicket of Samson in the 16th over, leaving the Royals with too much to do from 162-4.
Delhi have won three of their last four matches and are making a late run for the play-offs, as one of four teams tied on 12 points.
Data Debrief: Samson soars
It took Samson just 31 minutes to amass 86 runs before he was eventually dismissed, with the loss of his wicket all but ending the Royals' hopes.
In the process, he moved into third place in the IPL run-scorers chart, up from 11th, with 471 runs to his name this season. He trails only Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) and Virat Kohli (542).
Seales takes 5-29 in second innings to help Sussex complete innings and 124-run rout of Derbyshire
Jayden Seales is now the leading wicket-taker after five rounds of the County Championship Division Two after another stellar performance to help Sussex rout Derbyshire by an innings and 124 runs at the County Ground in Derby from May 3-5.
Seales took 1-54 from 14 overs in the first innings as Derbyshire were bowled out for 246 in 63.3 overs after Sussex won the toss.
Luis Reece (50), Blair Tickner (47) and Aneurin Donald (44) were the top run-scorers against 2-6 from James Coles and 2-65, each, from Ollie Robinson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.
Cheteshwar Pujara then starred with the bat with 113 off 186 balls as Sussex piled up 479 off 109.4 overs in their first innings.
James Coles (72), Tom Alsop (64) and Tom Haines (58) provided good support for Pujara against three-wicket hauls from Daryn Dupavillon and Jack Morley.
Seales then produced an excellent spell of bowling to help restrict Derbyshire to just 109 all out in 26 overs.
He took 5-29 from his eight overs, taking his tally this season to 18 in four games. Danny Lamb also bowled well with 2-10 from four overs.
Full Scores: Derbyshire 246 off 63.3 overs (Luis Reece 50, Blair Tickner 47, Aneurin Donald 44, James Coles 2-6, Ollie Robinson 2-65, Fynn Hudson-Prentice 2-65) & 109 off 26 overs (Jayden Seales 5-29, Danny Lamb 2-10)
Sussex 479 off 109.4 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 113, James Coles 72, Tom Alsop 64, Tom Haines 58, Daryn Dupavillon 3-89, Jack Morley 3-117, Luis Reece 2-32)
IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style
Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.
Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).
Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.
Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.
Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.
Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show
This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.
He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli.
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