"He played a lot of high-risk shots and executed them superbly" - Rahul Dravid praises Ollie Pope for match-winning knock in first IND-ENG Test

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid lavished praise on Ollie Pope's knock of 196 in England's second innings of the opening Test in Hyderabad.

After a dismal previous tour of India in 2020-21 with an average under 20 and scoring only a run in the first innings, Pope was under pressure to prove his mettle against the turning ball. The 26-year-old did just that with a fifth Test century that helped England overcome a 190-run deficit to set the hosts a target of 231.

England emerged victorious in a humdinger by 28 runs at the end of Day 4 to take a 1-0 series lead.

At the post-match press conference, Dravid felt India was chasing a stiff target thanks to Pope's sensational knock.

"We shouldn’t have been chasing 230, but Ollie Pope came out, and played a fantastic innings. He played a lot of high-risk shots and executed them superbly. 196 on that wicket where nobody else got a 50 in their side made the difference in the game," said Dravid.

He added:

"I certainly didn’t see someone do it that consistently and successfully. Especially the reverse sweep; to play it for that long and successfully, hats off to him. To be honest, 230 was a pretty challenging score on this wicket in the fourth innings, and it is always going to be challenging in India. 230 runs on a fourth-day wicket, which was turning."

Pope was the lone centurion in the entire Test and the only English batter to score a half-century in their second innings.

It was his first international game since the second Test of the Ashes series last year due to a dislocated shoulder.

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"If we get our execution right in the next Test match, he will make a mistake" - Rahul Dravid

India v England - 1st Test Match: Day Four

Despite Ollie Pope's stunning 196, Rahul Dravid expressed confidence in the Indian spinners' ability to bounce back in the second Test.

After picking up a combined 8/159 in the first innings, the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel wilted under the pressure of Pope's knock to concede 331 runs for only six wickets in the second innings.

"We just have to get more disciplined as to where to pitch the ball, and we will work on it. We will get better at it, and we have some world-class spinners. One of the good things about our spinners is that they have always bounced back. If we get our execution right in the next Test match, he (Pope) will make a mistake," said Dravid.

England won the opening Test of the 2020/21 tour before capitulating in the next three to suffer a 1-3 series defeat.

The teams will now move to Visakhapatnam for the second Test, starting on Friday, February 2.