Ben Stokes will 'back Tom Hartley all day' says Ben Duckett after difficult debut in first Test with India

Ben Duckett says England captain Ben Stokes will “back” Tom Hartley and throw him the ball on day two of the first Test against India, after a difficult debut for the Lancashire spinner.

The 24-year-old went for 63 runs from nine overs, without taking a wicket, as the hosts closed the opening day on 119-1, 127 runs behind the tourists’ first innings total of 246 in Hyderabad.

Hartley began to settle after a tricky start and was backed by Stokes for an unsuccessful review, all three of which were burnt by the end of the day.

Hartley also contributed with the bat by scoring a useful 23 in a partnership with his skipper, who went on to top score 70.

“It was incredible to see how he went out and batted,” Duckett told TNT Sports.

“I thought they played him really well, they were positive and they put him under pressure. He nearly took a pole at the end there, you know what Stokesy’s like, he’s going to throw him the ball tomorrow and back him all day.

“Our mantra is always looking to take wickets, forget about the runs and try and attack.”

Duckett says England will go hard at India early on day two, on a turning pitch which he believes will only get harder to bat on.

But they will have to remove opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who impressed as he finished the first day unbeaten on 76.

“On that pitch, it was quite tricky and [with] consistent spin throughout the day,” Duckett said.

“We were really happy, on another day we’d take three or four wickets and it’s completely different.

“I thought they played really well at the end, but you never know, we stick two wickets in the morning… I can’t see that pitch getting any better.”

Ravichandran Ashwin took 3-68 and thought England’s total was competitive, admitting they had given away “30 to 40 runs more than we would have liked”, but says Jaiswal’s innings has softened the blow.

The 22-year-old impressed during his first four Test matches, scoring 171 on his debut against the West Indies last summer, and Ashwin says he reminds him of another India batter.

“He doesn’t have any excess baggage. He had a great time in the IPL, he’s literally not put a foot wrong, he’s taken to it like fish to water,” Ashwin said of Jaiswal.

“His carefree approach is enabling him to play some wonderful shots. I’m quite enjoying it, I get a feeling sometimes I’m watching Rishabh Pant - they bat quite similar. The fearless approach, at the moment, is serving him really well.”

Day two starts at 4am UK time and every ball will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

TNT Sports will become the new official broadcast home of England men’s tours of India in 2024, 2025 and 2028.

TNT Sports has also agreed a deal to show exclusive live coverage of every red-ball and white-ball international series played in India for the next five years.

Cricket fans will not miss a single delivery, boundary or wicket when England begin their five-Test tour in India, starting on Thursday, January 25 in Hyderabad.

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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