England batter Ollie Pope got a fresh lease of life when Axar Patel dropped a half-chance off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. Pope had completed his hundred shortly before and was guiding England towards a healthy lead. The wicket of Pope, who is going from strength to strength at the moment, could’ve been a turning point in the match had Axar held on to the catch.
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Ollie Pope scored the fifth century of his Test career on Saturday, becoming the fifth batter since 2016 to score a Test century in India against the hosts. Pope played a range of expansive shots in his long innings, especially trying multiple reverse-sweeps against the Indian spinners.
The Indians were unable to get Pope out, and missed out on the only opportunity that the England batter presented. Ironically, it was a reverse sweep that almost spelled Pope’s doom. Pope tried to play the shot on a pitched-up delivery of Ravindra Jadeja. However, the ball got his top-edge and flew towards Axar Patel who was standing at short point.
Axar jumped high to catch the ball but his leap was ill-timed as he was unable to hold on to the ball. He fumbled the ball and almost got a second chance but the ball went out of his reach, ensuring Pope had the opportunity to strengthen England’s lead further.
The post IND vs ENG 1st Test: Axar Patel provides fresh lease of life to centurion Ollie Pope with a dropped catch appeared first on Inside Sport India.