In the first Test match played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, England defeated India by 28 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. In this match, young batsman Ollie Pope for England batted brilliantly in the second innings and scored 196 runs in 278 balls with the help of 21 fours.

It was because of this valuable innings of Ollie Pope that England won the first test. Ollie Pope made a big revelation about his innings after the end of the first Test. Pope told that he had made a lot of changes in his batting technique before the tour of India and that is why he was able to play big innings in the first Test against the hosts.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Ollie Pope said, ‘I have tinkered a lot throughout my career so far, especially for this Test series I had changed my technique a bit. I also had shoulder surgery so I had a lot of time for this series. Earlier we came here 3 years ago. For these conditions, I changed my technique a lot and improved my game.

I wanted to put pressure on the bowlers with the help of sweep and reverse sweep: Ollie Pope

Ollie Pope further said, ‘I had to cover my inside edge and put some pressure on the bowlers. I wanted to play sweep and reverse sweep as much as possible and put pressure on the bowlers. The bowlers we are facing have a lot of art. He bowls tremendously and that is why it is very important for you to know where the ball is falling and which ball you have to defend.

In the beginning, when I was on around 20 runs, I was wondering why the ball was not hitting the middle of my bat. However, later I started scoring runs faster and I am very happy with my batting.