On a deteriorating pitch, England piled up 420 runs in the second innings, facing Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. Employing a strategic blend of reverse sweeps, conventional sweeps, and aggressive charges down the track, Ollie Pope and his teammates executed a tactically astute approach reminiscent of Bazball. Here’s how they systematically dismantled the Indian spinners, compelling them to rethink their strategies.
* 6th over: Reverse sweep is out
A strategic move unfolds as opener Zak Crawley executes a reverse sweep against Ashwin’s delivery pitched on middle and off stump from around the stumps, sending the ball square to the point boundary. This marks his second successful reverse sweep of the match. Earlier, he had employed the same shot with identical results in the second over.
* 7th over: Crawley hits six, Duckett reverses
In a quick turn of events, moments after Crawley paddles an Axar delivery around the corner, Rohit Sharma swiftly adjusts, moving from midwicket to short fine leg. Without hesitation, Crawley anticipates the change and advances down the track, skillfully dispatching the ball over long-on. Thus begins the engaging cat-and-mouse exchange. In the same over, left-hander Ben Duckett adds to the excitement by executing a reverse slap for a boundary.
* 8th over: Crawley vs Ashwin, Pope’s entry
After a couple more sweeps, Ashwin adjusts his tactics, switching to bowling over the wicket with only one fielder stationed in front on the off side at covers. Undeterred, Crawley confidently sends the ball to the cover boundary. However, Ashwin strikes back the next over, dismissing Crawley with a slider from around the stumps. Stepping in is Ollie Pope, who attempts a reverse sweep on his second ball but fails to connect properly. While England’s strategy becomes increasingly evident, it remains unnoticed by onlookers, as Kevin Pietersen remarks on air, advising Pope to “calm down” and avoid forcing shots.
* Duckett forces Axar to change plans
Despite the presence of rough outside Duckett’s off stump, Axar opts to bowl from around the stumps, consistently targeting the middle and leg. Duckett takes advantage of this angle, unleashing a couple of powerful reverse sweeps to the square boundary. “With that angle, he isn’t exploiting the rough. He needs to switch to bowling over the wicket,” laments Ravi Shastri on air. Axar attempts to adjust his line, aiming towards the middle stump, but Duckett remains unfazed, executing another reverse slap. In the 11th over, Axar signals to Rohit to position a fielder in the point region to intercept, but his request is denied.
* Ashwin, Axar try but Duckett reverse laps
Ashwin, bowling at an early 90 kmph, attempts a slower dipping full toss at 77 kmph, hoping to disrupt Duckett’s bat-speed. However, Duckett cleverly adjusts and patiently waits to reverse-lap the ball to the third man boundary, showcasing his adaptability. In the 13th over, Axar finally switches to bowling over the wicket. Despite this change, Duckett confidently takes an off-stump guard and unleashes a powerful conventional sweep, sending the ball racing to the boundary.
* Post lunch: Tactical bashing continues
Consistently proactive, Pope maintains his aggressive approach throughout his innings. After calmly pushing Ashwin’s first three deliveries to the covers, he swiftly switches gears, executing a reverse sweep on the fourth ball, unsettling Ashwin’s rhythm. In response, Ashwin adjusts by going over the wicket, positioning himself closer to the stumps. However, Pope confidently dances down the track, effortlessly guiding the in-drifter to the straight boundary. Undeterred, he follows it up with a delicate glance to the fine-leg boundary on the next delivery. Ashwin’s over-the-wicket strategy is quickly abandoned as Pope’s assertive batting prevails.
* Pope targets Jadeja
In the 25th over, Jadeja returns to the attack following a stint of seam bowling, only to be immediately greeted by Pope’s reverse sweep for a boundary. The field adjusts as silly point shifts to short point. Amidst England’s dominance, KS Bharat’s vocal support evolves throughout the day, mirroring the shifting fortunes. Starting with the belief that “one brings in two” at the onset of Pope’s innings, his encouragement transitions to urging Jadeja to maintain patience and bowl in the right areas during the afternoon session. By evening, his exhortations simplify to a straightforward “keep bowling,” reflecting India’s persistent efforts. Despite attempts to adjust length, as seen with Jadeja after the reverse sweeps, Pope continues to assert his authority, slog-sweeping a length ball from outside off to the midwicket boundary in the 33rd over. India’s attempts to rectify their bowling approach prove ineffective against Pope’s aggressive batting display.
* Ashwin returns to over the wicket but…
Following a reverse sweep and a powerful shot to cow corner by a proactive Pope, Ashwin changes his angle in the 37th over, opting to bowl over the wicket. Pope responds with an uppish sweep to the deep, prompting Ashwin to adjust by bowling shorter, which Pope comfortably taps away. Despite Ashwin’s attempt to position a straight fielder at the deep,Pope remains undeterred, confidently stepping down the track and targeting the wide long-on boundary.
* Post Tea: Nothing working still
At this point, Rohit had abandoned his attacking mindset. With a short point, a backward point, and only a slip in place, he begins this session not with Bumrah and Ashwin, but with the two left-arm spinners. Pope takes advantage of the situation by executing several sweeps against Jadeja.
* Ashwin, over the stumps
In the 54th over, Ashwin makes another brief attempt from around the wicket. He delivers a beauty that loops, dips, and breaks back from outside off, leaving Pope reaching for it as he drives past the leg stump. “That’s the length I am talking about,” declares Sunil Gavaskar, expressing his frustration with the lengths and line of attack throughout the day. However, on the very next ball, perhaps anticipating a reverse sweep, Ashwin goes fuller, and Pope adjusts by executing a conventional sweep. As Ashwin returns to bowling round the stumps, Pope confidently reverse-sweeps off the length to the square boundary.
* Jadeja does beat Pope
During this phase, Jadeja troubled Pope with several deliveries that landed around the off stump and turned away, resulting in Pope frequently missing while attempting to feel the ball on his bat. However, Jadeja struggled to maintain consistent length and line. When Pope reached his hundred with an elegant on-drive, a statistic flashed on the screen: Backfoot 30%, Front foot 50%, and Stepping down 20%.
As Jadeja introduced a silly point, Pope responded by reverse-sweeping for a boundary. He then survived a close call, nearly holing out with another reverse-sweep on 110, but Axar Patel failed to hold on at backward point. Jadeja, visibly disappointed, sank to the ground while Rohit Sharma expressed frustration by throwing his head skywards. However, Pope quickly regained control, eschewing the sweep for a powerful punch through covers for a boundary off the next delivery.
* Pope lap-scoops Axar
As Axar persistently targets the off stump from a length, Pope refrains from attempting the reverse sweep. However, on reaching 120, he surprises everyone by executing a reverse-lap-scoop over slip. After a couple of dot balls, Pope then showcases his innovation once again, reverse-scooping the ball over his own head.
* Second new ball: Pope at it
Pope calmly pushes three full-length deliveries before audaciously lap-scooping Jadeja over slips to the boundary in the first over of the new ball, marking the 89th over of the innings. “Keep bowling, Jaad,” urges Bharat from behind the stumps.
* Tom Hartley joins in
Hartley confidently charges down the track against the spinners and executes effective sweeps, showcasing his versatility. At 406 for 7, he further asserts his dominance by reverse-sweeping Ashwin for a boundary. It’s a moment that prompts Kevin Pietersen to make a notable observation: “Not often you see Ashwin and Jadeja rattled, but they are rattled. It’s a shot clearly practiced, practiced, and practiced. There are no consequences for these English batsmen. They are encouraged to be unorthodox and encouraged to be free-spirited.”
