In the morning session of the third Test, Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva opted for an all-out pace attack against Harry Brook and Ollie Pope. Despite the favorable conditions, Brook was dismissed in the 53rd over, leaving Pope to partner with Jamie Smith.
To ease the pressure on the new batter, Pope sought scoring opportunities, and his luck held as he narrowly survived two close calls in the same over.
Sri Lanka responded with a double bowling change, bringing Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando into the attack from either end. In the 58th over, Fernando bowled a good-length delivery that jagged in slightly, beating Pope’s attempted whip and striking his pad.
The on-field umpire, Chris Gaffaney, initially ruled Pope out, but a review overturned the decision, as the ball had pitched just outside leg stump.
Two balls later, Pope advanced down the track to drive a length delivery outside off stump but got a thin inside edge onto his pad. The ball narrowly missed the stumps and trickled toward the boundary.
— Gill Bill (@bill_gill76078) September 7, 2024
— Gill Bill (@bill_gill76078) September 7, 2024
Pope, visibly relieved by his good fortune after surviving two tight moments, sighed in disbelief. The sequence of events sparked a flurry of reactions on Twitter, as fans reacted to the dramatic turn of events.
