Prior to the first test in Hyderabad starting from 25th January , England team inspired by Bazball tactics desired to apply same on Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma led Indian team . With many speculated England’s Bazball tactics to be fruitless on spinning tracks in India 4 days later on 28th January inspired by scintillating 196 runs by vice captain Ollie Pope and a 7 wicket haul in the second innings on debut by spinner Tom Hartley , England made Bazball talking as India slumped to 28 runs defeat giving 1-0 lead to visitor England.
After taking 190 runs lead on Day 3 and reducing England to 163 for 5 thanks due to the lethal bowling spell by speedster Jasprit Bumrah and the spinners, many would have speculated an Indian easy win going to Vishakhapatnam 1-0 ahead in the series, but hardly anyone knew Day 4 would converge on the opposite side thanks due to the resilience and grit shown by Ollie Pope who gave a masterclass to bat in Indian conditions using sweep shot effective use by making epic 196 runs.
This innings allowed England who were out of the game for first two days to tighten their grip over India even after conceding 190 runs first innings lead. Inspired by Ollie Pope’s masterclass innings , Debutant Tom Hartley on a low bounce pitch used conditions to perfection to grab 7 wickets in an innings and 9 wickets in the match in addition to 34 runs scored in the second innings and adding 80 runs with Pope to give England 1-0 lead as they now head to Vishakhapatnam for second test match .
Ollie Pope’s scintillating 196 runs and its approach stunned all
While many would have thought How Bazball could work on spin friendly wickets in India and speculated after second day’s play that England wont survive another innings from Indian spin trio, England’s Vice captain Ollie Pope on Day 3 proved it all wrong with a masterful and gritty century 148 not out to give England a 121 run lead over India with 4 wickets in hand going into Day 4 of an interesting test match.
With Team India hoping to bundle out England for a win on 3rd day itself, Ollie Pope scored a gritty fifth Test hundred, and added 112 runs for the sixth wicket with Ben Foakes to keep England going on an engrossing third day in Hyderabad . Indian bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, had the visitors on the mat at 172 for 5 at Tea.
Ollie Pope however, set them on a recovery path, ending the day having steered England ahead by 126 runs. Pope’s 148*, incidentally, is the highest score by a visiting batter in the second innings vs India in India since Alastair Cook’s 176 in Ahmedabad in 2012 – the first Test of India’s last series defeat at home.
Before Tea session, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes were tied down before tea, but they have batted out nearly 50 minutes after tea rather comfortably. In doing so, they have added 50 for the sixth wicket. India have tried all five bowlers in the session after tea. Pope is nearing a hundred, and England lead are effectively 28 for 5 wickets in hand.
A fantastic innings from Ollie Pope, the first hundred of this match, his first in India. Any time you score a hundred in India against Ashwin, Jadeja, Bumrah, Siraj and Axar, you can be proud of it. To do so starting 190 behind in the second innings is even better. He has been excellent with the sweeps, all kinds. Paddle, powerful, reverse, reverse paddle, reverse in front of square. Against Ashwin he has scored 40 off 39. It has forced Ashwin to bowl too full. England are now 55 ahead. The pitch is slow, the ball soft. England can mount a challenge yet.
Ollie Pope continues reverse-sweeping every time a bowler looks like he is getting into rhythm. The first one off Ravindra Jadeja, he nails it and gets four. On the next one, he gets a top edge, which Axar Patel has dropped at backward point. Followed by a punched boundary and a ginger chase from Ashwin. England lead by 73, which means these two have now added 100 for the sixth wicket. The new ball is more than 15 overs away.
Axar Patel finally breaks through for India with one that stays low and squeezes past Ben Foakes’ bat, who fought hard for his 34 off 81 in a partnership of 112 with Ollie Pope. England are 85 for 6 effectively. Thirteen overs to the new ball.
Essentially Dilscoop is a ramp shot, but a specific variety of the ramp shot where you put your head down and ramp the ball straight over your head. In the 70th over of the innings, Ollie Pope has gone a step ahead and played the reverse Dilscoop from just outside leg and straight over the keeper’s head for four. His commitment to sweeping and reverse-sweeping has been superb after he got out playing a defensive shot in the first innings. Into the last seven overs of the day, and England’s lead is part 100.
And it is a significant milestone. This is the first time in 12 years, since they themselves did so in Nagpur, that a side has got to 300 in the second innings in India. The lead was now 110 and Pope still battling England’s hope to wage a fight.
An exceptional day for England. When we began the day, we were questioning if there would be a day four. Now there will be a tussle on day four. Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 148 has led them to 316 for 6, the first time a visiting team has scored 300 in the second innings in India since Nagpur 2012.
Ollie Pope’s innings of 196 ensured that England now has one in form batter to their ranks who would counter the experienced Indian spin effectively in the series going forward in pursuit of their dream to win a series in India since 2012. However in the second test at Vizag Ollie Pope failed in both the innings and India snatched away victory by 106 runs to draw level the series 1-1 .
With a ten day day break between the second test and the third test at Rajkot, everyone expected England to stage a comeback after being tied at 1-1 and the onus was on the England top order batters in form of Ollie Pope , Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to perform.
However barring Joe Root in the fourth test at Ranchi both Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow failed significantly as India went to win the series 3-1 with one match to go at Dharamshala as a mere formality for getting WTC points. The failure of Ollie Pope in the 3rd and 4th test where he had scored only one score of 30 and a King pair at Ranchi post his 196 is a worrisome sight for England camp. However English coach Brendon McCullum has extended his full support to Ollie Pope despite lack of runs and hopes he comes good at Dharamshala.
Ollie Pope is aware of what he needs to do- Brendon McCullum
Ollie Pope, who is the vice-captain of the England Test team, has been quite inconsistent and has failed to repeat his match-winning knock in the first Test match. He has performed poorly in the last three matches and even got a pair in the last match, which was held in Ranchi.
His performances have affected the team’s batting lineup as well as they suffered collapses in both Rajkot and Ranchi. Before the fifth match, which will be held in Dharamshala, England head coach Brendon McCullum has come in support of Pope and said that the batter is quite aware as to what needs to be done.
“He’s aware of what he needs to do. He bagged them in the last Test and he’s gutted about that but look at the way he was then helping the skipper on the last day and diving around in the field,” McCullum told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“That’s the stuff you’re desperate for as a coach, to see people giving it their best regardless of their own performance. He displayed great leadership qualities and that showed where he’s at as a player, member of this team and as a person.”
The Rohit Sharma-led side has already taken an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the series, and the 5th test at Dharamshala would be Ollie Pope’s last chance to seek redemption after a King Pair at Ranchi.
Ollie Pope is trying to be as calm as he can be – Brendon McCullum
The former gloveman admitted the frantic nature of any innings when it starts and backed Pope to find his rhythm soon. He added :
“Look at Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting when they first went out to bat. They were frenetic at the start and everyone’s susceptible when they first go out there. It’s just the way it is,”
“But Popey is trying to be as calm as he can be when he goes out there and there’s a period when he needs to grab information from the wicket and get the rhythm of how the game is going,”
The fifth Test of the series begins on March 7 in Dharamsala and England will aim to grab important WTC points in Dharamshala as it’s the only venue where their fast bowlers will succeed with India aiming to seal the series 4-1 to their name.