"Got his rhythm going" - Dinesh Karthik pinpoints reason behind Ollie Pope's confident approach in 2nd innings of IND vs ENG 1st Test

England's Ollie Pope shone with the bat on Day 3 (Saturday, January 27) of the team's ongoing Test series opener against India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

The right-handed batter gave his team some hope of making a comeback in the game, remaining unbeaten on 148 at stumps. Dinesh Karthik pointed out that Pope tends to be reluctant towards the start of the innings.

The keeper-batter suggested that Pope getting off the mark straight away in the second innings could have been the reason behind his newfound confidence. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik said:

"He (Ollie Pope) is one of those batters who is a very nervous starter. You could see that in the first innings as well, he was searching, he was defending, and he was fidgety. Today, the way he started, he got two runs off his first ball. That, in many ways, got his rhythm going, and post that, he looked very confident to play the shots that he has."

Pope's gritty knock helped England finish the day with a 126-run lead. With four wickets still in hand, the visitors have a chance of setting an impressive target for the Men in Blue.

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"We didn't see that happening" - Dinesh Karthik on Ollie Pope's century

Ollie Pope was dismissed for just one run in the first innings. However, the 26-year-old made amends in the second essay, notching up his fifth century in Test cricket and first against India.

Dinesh Karthik opined that Pope's confidence would have increased significantly after being named vice-captain of the Ben Stokes-led English Test team. He also mentioned that not many had expected the youngster to score a hundred in the Test, but he managed to silence his critics with his batting exploits.

The cricketer-commentator added:

"When a country gives you responsibility, there is a sense of confidence as well. He is the nominated vice-captain. That confidence is coming through. Yes, there must have been a little bit of pressure because we spoke about a lot of batters who could get runs, I don't think it will be honest of us to say we say Pope doing this today; we didn't see that happening. It just shows that he believed in himself. But most importantly, this one will put a lot of naysayers to rest with the way he approached things more than anything."

England finished at 316/6 at stumps on Day 3. Ollie Pope will resume batting on the fourth day with Rehan Ahmed, who remained unbeaten on 16.