Ollie Pope and Rehan Ahmed, as anticipated, initiated Day 4 of the first Test against India with some confident shots, but Jasprit Bumrah curtailed Ahmed’s innings. England found themselves at 7 down with a lead approaching 150. India hoped to swiftly wrap up the last three wickets and then take to the batting crease within the next half hour. However, this scenario was not unfamiliar in this innings.
Pope, becoming the first visiting batter to surpass 150 in the third innings of a Test match in India since Kevin Pietersen’s remarkable performance at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2012, partnered with debutant Tom Hartley. The duo added 80 runs for the 8th wicket, a point at which former India and England cricketers believe the match slipped further away from the hosts.
Pietersen remarked that the partnership between Pope and Hartley “destroyed” India’s spirit, putting England in a commanding position. He stated, “Psychologically, a lead over 200 is a huge blow for India. Batting in the fourth innings is incredibly difficult.” Although Ashwin broke the Pope and Hartley partnership, India took the next two wickets rapidly, dismissing England for 420. However, by then, the visitors, initially at 163/5, had already secured a lead of 230 runs.
Pope’s exceptional innings fell just four runs short of a double century, yet it significantly positioned England to not only stay competitive but also entertain the possibility of an improbable victory. Despite Ashwin breaking the partnership and India quickly claiming the next two wickets to bowl England out, the visitors had already established a substantial lead.
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While praising Pope’s innings, it was acknowledged that he received some assistance from the Indian fielders. He was dropped by Axar Patel off Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery on Day 3, and even on Day 4, KL Rahul missed a catch in the slips when Pope was in the 180s off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling.
Former India cricketers Ravi Shastri and Murali Kartik criticized India’s defensive body language.
“With every single boundary, a head dropped in the field,” observed Pietersen.
“India’s body language has been listless ever since that partnership between Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope. They have waited for things to happen,” remarked former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik.
Dinesh Karthik, the veteran India keeper-batter, questioned Rohit Sharma’s defensive field placements. “India have been too defensive. I can understand being defensive to Pope, but to Tom Hartley, Jadeja, and Ashwin should get attacking fielders and not so many sweepers,” he stated.
Shastri highlighted the unfamiliar pressure on the home team and noted, “This is an unknown territory for India. You can sense the home team is under pressure. They are not used to visiting teams piling on 400-plus runs in the third innings.”
India, undefeated in Test series at home for 12 years, have lost only three Tests out of 46 during this period.
