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England‘s Ollie Pope has detailed the team’s strategy for facing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming Test series against India in India.
India’s dominance in home tests since 2012
Despite England’s recent successes under Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, they face a formidable challenge in the five-match Test series starting on January 25. This tour is expected to be the most extended and challenging of the Bazball era. Team India holds an impressive record in home conditions, not having lost a Test series at home since 2012, with England itself being the last team to defeat them in home conditions in a Test series.
Ollie Pope’s pledge for aggressive cricket to counter Indian bowling
Speaking to The Telegraph, Pope, part of England’s 2021 squad that lost 3-1 to India, has expressed the team’s commitment to an aggressive style of play to counter India’s bowling.
“That is exactly how we are going to see things (taking the aggressive option). It’s about managing your expectations. You want to score a hundred every game, and you’ve failed if you don’t. But in India, it might be that case that a run-a-ball 60 is match-winning, 200 might be a good score on some pitches,” Pope said.
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Neutralizing Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for England’s victory chance
Despite Pope’s struggles in the last tour, managing only 153 runs in eight innings at an average of 19.13, he underscored the importance of putting both Ashwin and Jadeja on the back foot for England to have a chance of victory.
“There’s threat to both edges as a right-hander. Ashwin is probably the best spinner in the world, but (Ravindra) Jadeja and Axar are spinning the ball away from the bat sharply. It’s knowing how you want to score; taking on the bowler and putting them under pressure. It’s a tough place to go and win, but we will give it as much of a crack as we can playing our way,” the 25-year-old concluded.
Tour schedule: England’s path through five test matches in India
The five-match Test series kicks off in Hyderabad from January 25-29, followed by Tests in Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27) and Dharamsala (March 7-11).
