"Guys are telling me I won't play a better knock" - Ollie Pope on his match-winning 196 in IND vs ENG 1st Test
England's top-order batter Ollie Pope played a knock for the ages in the team's recently concluded Test series opener against India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Pope, who perished after scoring just one run in the first innings, turned things around in the second essay, notching up his fifth Test ton. The right-handed batter narrowly missed out on a well-deserved double century, getting out on 196.
His batting exploits helped the visitors set a tricky 231-run target for the Men in Blue in the fourth innings. England secured a famous 28-run win as India were bundled out for just 202 on Day 4 (Sunday, January 28).
Speaking about his knock in a video shared by England Cricket on social media, Pope said:
"Guys are telling me I won't play a better knock, and that's absolutely fine. I was really happy with that. I've had a long time out—seven months. So, to come back and do this on the big stage in India is head and shoulders above anything I have done."
Sharing his delight at winning a Test match on Indian soil, Pope added:
"What a win! It's probably not quite sunk in what we have done yet. That's a brilliant Indian side that we have beaten on home soil in their conditions. To come back from where we did is an unbelievable achievement. Probably one of our best, if not the best."
Ollie Pope earned widespread praise for his batting performance in the Hyderabad Test. He was named the Player of the Match as England took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
"We all had a pretty clear approach" - Ollie Pope on England's batting plans
Ollie Pope also credited England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett for taking the pressure off him with their counter-attacking approach at the top.
He also suggested that the batting unit had a clear approach throughout the game, which also included playing the reverse sweep as a defence on the spin-friendly surface. Ollie Pope added:
"We all had a pretty clear approach. The two boys at the top were unbelievable. They really sort of eased the nerves there. I saw the reverse sweeps and shots down the ground. That sort of took the pressure off me a little bit. We said we are going to use our reverse sweep as defence sometimes because it is spinning so much."
The second Test between India and England will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam from February 02 to 06.