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 continues his pyrotechnics on Day 4 too felling agonizingly short of a double hundred by four runs
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 fell agonizingly short of an incredible double century, but paved the way for England to set India a target of 231 with a little over five sessions to go in the Hyderabad Test. Pope’s effort – in the company of a free-spirited Tom Hartley – helped England post 420 runs – a total that looked improbable at one stage on Day 3 when they were five down for just 163 and still in arrears of India’s first-innings lead.
By Lunch on Day 4, however, they turned the tables through Pope’s efforts to keep themselves in contention for a favorable result in the opening Test of the series.
Jasprit Bumrah continued from where he left off on Day 3 as he got the old ball to reverse away from Rehan Ahmed and nicked him off. Hartley arrived next to pour cold water over India’s plans of wrapping up the tail as he forged a stubborn stand with Pope. As the lead went past 150, India delayed taking the new ball in the hope of making another breakthrough or two with the old one.
Even when Rohit Sharma eventually took it, in the 89th over, it didn’t yield different results as Hartley – who constantly counter-attacked against Ashwin – and Pope added a brisk, 65-ball stand worth 50 and brought up England’s lead of 200.If England’s proactive approach finding success wasn’t enough, India made matters worse for themselves with fielding lapses. While Pope was on 186, KL Rahul put down a straight forward catching chance that the England batter offered him at first slip off Mohammed Siraj.
The plan to pepper Hartley with short balls was also thwarted by the six foot four inches tall left-hander, as he pulled comfortably against Siraj. The extent of England’s command in the middle was perhaps encapsulated in the way the left-hander made the risky option of a pre-meditated reverse sweep against Ashwin seem run of the mill. Ashwin hit back though towards the end of the session by cleaning up the left-hander, but not before he added an extremely valuable 80-run stand for the eighth wicket with Pope.
From 419 for 8, Jadeja quickly made it 420 for 9 with the wicket of Mark Wood, bringing Jack Leach – with a swollen leg – out to the middle. Rohit Sharma immediately brought back Bumrah in a bid to wrap up the innings before the impending Lunch break. Pope lived by the sword and died by it, as an attempt to play the reverse scoop against Bumrah’s slower delivery led to his dismissal and the end of England’s innings.
This match winning innings earned praises from England former greats and Former player and commentator Geoffrey Boycott are in all praises of the innings which changed England’s fortunes in a test match.
Ollie Pope’s 196 was one of the best I have ever seen- Geoffrey Boycott
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott stated that he believes Ollie Pope’s 196 in Hyderabad is at par with Kevin Pietersen’s 196 in Mumbai in 2012. Boycott observed that Pope’s frequent use of the sweep and reverse sweep didn’t allow the Indian spinners to settle into one length.
Pope was dismissed for just one run in the first innings in Hyderabad, but went on to score a match-winning 196 in the second, playing a critical role in wiping out the 190-run deficit. The right-hander played an array of sweeps and reverse-sweeps as India’s spin-trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel struggled to contain him.
In his column for The Telegraph, the 83-year-old admitted he hardly expected Pope to play the way he did in the second innings. He wrote:
“Pope’s 196 was one of the best I have ever seen and on a par with Kevin Pietersen’s 186 in Mumbai in 2012. Great is a word often misused in sport but not for this innings. It was superb. Pope failed in his first innings pushing hard at the ball so nobody could have foreseen how he would mesmerize a top Indian attack,”
Boycott pointed out that an overseas batter in India has rarely controlled the home team’s spinners. He added:
“But he did this by employing lots of sweeps, reverse sweeps and switch hits that upset the bowlers’ lengths. He was controlling them when they should have been controlling him on that surface. England’s sweeping, reverse sweeping, scoops and switch hitting really has India worried. It is all designed to upset spinners and stop them dictating and bowling on a length,”
Following the match, Team India coach Rahul Dravid admitted that he hadn’t seen a batter play that many reverse sweeps before.
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.