SO, DID you believe? And be honest, because there really is no shame or treason in admitting not.
At the midway point of this First Test in Hyderabad, England trailed by 190 first-innings runs, almost three times the greatest margin previously overturned by a touring team on Indian soil, and that by Australia way back in 1964.
Such had been England's more recent struggles that had they replicated even the best of their second-dig totals from the previous, spiralling tour in 2021, they still would have been left stomaching an innings defeat.
To help matters in this particular affair, when Ben Stokes was the fifth second-innings wicket to fall, England were still 27 runs from asking their hosts to don pads again, knowing that even if they could, their nominal attack leader, Jack Leach, was hobbling around with a knee the size of a balloon.
So, let us pause here in the tale of the Heist of Hyderabad, swiftly confirmed by Stokes to be the greatest win of his captaincy, to (self-)acknowledge that no one - broadcasters, fans and writers alike really, truly believed. Expect, of course, the small group of people with means to affect the outcome.
The power of belief has not gone undersold in the Bazball era, individuals urged to back their own ability and emboldened towards a sense of belonging at Test level long before they might have provided the kind of objective evidence that was once prerequisite.
Denne historien er fra January 29, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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Denne historien er fra January 29, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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