Former English skipper Micheal Atherton while talking about the third Test match between India and England, which was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad picked R Ashwin’s delivery which dismissed Ollie Pope in the second innings as ball of the game said that it was a classic dismissal.
Thriving on left-arm spinner Akshar Patel and veteran off-spinner R Ashwin’s skills, India thumped England by ten wickets in the third Test match of the four-match Test series to take an inaccessible lead of 2-1.
The pink-ball Test between India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium lasted less than two days and for just 842 deliveries, shortest Test since an England-West Indies contest in 1934-35.
Out of the 30 wickets, 28 were taken by the spinners and both the teams failed to cross the 150-run mark in their innings.
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Addressing the match, former English skipper Micheal Atherton has revealed his pick for the ball of the Test. The former has chosen R Ashwin’s delivery which dismissed Ollie Pope in the second innings.
"I thought that the wicket of Pope… the way he got Pope out in the second innings, for me that was the ball of the game. People look at that and say ‘look it’s just a straight ball. What’s the problem?’
But a couple of balls before he really spun one that virtually had gone to leg slip over Pope’s left shoulder and that was a deliberately bowled straight ball. He kind of under-cut it and it was an absolutely beautiful bit of bowling," Micheal Atherton told Sky Sports.
Atherton said he felt bad for Ollie Pope who got out to a stunning delivery by a "one of the greats", R Ashwin.
"I felt for Ollie Pope. He’s really short of form and rhythm and flow. And he’s coming up against one of the greats. I think Ashwin is the second-fastest to 400 wickets, isn’t he? One of the greats on a challenging surface. That was a very tough examination but a beautiful delivery to get him out," he said.
Micheal Atherton further pointed out that DRS has made game much more difficult for batsmen and added that not only the pitch but a combination of certain elements put together has troubled the batsmen.
"The other layer of difficulty that we struggle to appreciate sometimes is DRS. I think DRS makes it a much more difficult game now for batsmen, on these kinds of surfaces where some are spinning and some are not.
You’ve got to keep your pads out of the way. Umpires give many more LBWs now. All those extra modes of dismissal are in play. You throw all these factors in the mix, the pitch, the lacquer of the ball, DRS, the lack of confidence," he concluded.
(Sky Sports inputs)
