Leeds, June 22
A century by Ollie Pope and his partnership with Ben Duckett helped England put up a strong reply against India in their first innings, ending the final session of day two of the first Test on a high.
England earlier made a strong comeback dismissing India for 471 after visitors had ended the day yesterday on 359 for 3 and looked poised for a huge score.
At the end of the second day's play, England were 209/3, with Pope (100*) and Harry Brook (0*) unbeaten. They trail by 262 runs.
England kickstarted the final session at 107/1, with Duckett (53*) and Pope (48*) unbeaten.
Ollie Pope reached his half-century in 64 balls, with eight fours, with the help of a first-ball four by Bumrah.
Duckett and Pope tried to assert their dominance over India once again, however, Jasprit Bumrah came in clutch, leaving Duckett's middle-stump pegged back to end a 122-run partnership. Duckett was gone for 62 in 94 balls, with nine fours. England was 126/2.
Bumrah also almost got Pope, but Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped him at slips.
Root also survived a review by Mohammed Siraj, and England raced to the 150-run mark in 37.2 overs.
Pope and Root continued to dominate pacers, taking their side closer to the 200-run mark and bringing up their 50-run mark in 81 balls.
England reached the 200-run mark in 45 overs.
Pope reached his ninth Test ton and second against India in 125 balls, with 13 fours.
Root continued his poor record against Bumrah, falling to him for the 10th time, for 28 in 58 balls with two fours, thanks to a catch by Karun Nair. England was 206/3.
Bumrah got Harry Brook dismissed on a no-ball. Brook and Pope made sure England ended the final session without any further damage.
Earlier, England ended the second session at 107/1, with Duckett (53*) and Pope (48*) unbeaten.
The second session started with India at 454/7, with Ravindra Jadeja joined by Bumrah. However, the pacers did not let India progress much, ending their innings at 471 in 113 overs.
Skipper Ben Stokes (4/66) and Josh Tongue (4/86) were the top bowlers for England, while Bashir and Carse got one.
Responding to India's first innings total of 471 runs, England lost Zak Crawley (4) early to Bumrah.
Following that, Duckett and Pope made a meal out of the pace trio of Bumrah, Siraj and Prasidh, reaching the 50-run mark in 10 overs, with both batters cracking out boundaries.
Pope in particular was looking in supreme touch, smashing pacers really well.
England reached the 100-run mark in 21.3 overs, playing at almost five runs per over.
The duo reached their 100-run partnership within a matter of just 126 balls, playing with an ODI tempo. Even India had some missed opportunities, but luck and lack of execution kept India away from success.
Duckett reached his half-century in 68 balls, with eight boundaries, continuing his monstrous run as an opener. The duo made sure England ended session two without another loss of a wicket.
India started the first session at 359/3, with Shubman Gill (127*) and Rishabh Pant (65*) unbeaten.
The duo of Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse continued proving inefficient as Pant and Gill kept the scoreboard ticking, and there was an air of positivity as they both played with English minds by use of local language to talk about tactics. Pant in particular targetted Carse with some fours.
India raced to the 400-run mark in 95.5 overs.
Pant treated Shoaib Bashir's spin with disdain, reaching his seventh Test ton in 146 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes.
The 209-run stand between Gill, Rishabh ended with the captain being caught by Josh Tongue at deep square leg on a Bashir delivery for 147 in 227 balls, with 19 fours and a six. India was 430/4.
From then on, it was a collapse for India as skipper Ben Stokes denied Karun Nair a good outing, removing him for a duck and Tongue trapped Pant leg-before-wicket for 134 in 178 balls, with 12 fours and six sixes.
The first session ended with India 454/7, with Stokes getting Shardul Thakur for just one run.
India ended the first day at 359/3, with Shubman Gill (127*) and Rishabh Pant (65*) unbeaten. Earlier, a 91-run stand between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul (42 in 78 balls, with eight fours) and Jaiswal's century (101 in 159 balls, with 16 fours) laid a platform for the captain-vice captain to fire.
Brief Scores: England: 209/3 (Ollie Pope 100*, Ben Duckett 62, Jasprit Bumrah 3/48) trail India (Shubman Gill 147, Rishabh Pant 134, Ben Stokes 4/66).
— ANI
Reader Comments
Bumrah is proving why he's our most valuable player! 3 wickets already and could've had Pope too if not for that drop. Need to wrap up England quickly tomorrow morning. 🇮🇳 #TeamIndia
Pant and Gill's partnership was pure class! But the middle order collapse was disappointing. We should've crossed 500 with that start. England's batting looks dangerous though - Pope is in great touch 😬
Why does our fielding always let us down in crucial moments? That dropped catch of Pope might prove costly. Otherwise Bumrah and Siraj are bowling their hearts out. Need to be more clinical tomorrow!
Test cricket at its best! England playing Bazball while we're playing traditional cricket. Both approaches working in their own way. Exciting match so far - hope we get early wickets tomorrow 🤞
England's scoring rate is worrying - nearly 5 runs per over in Tests! Our bowlers need to be more disciplined with line and length. That said, still 262 runs ahead - game is evenly poised.
Shubman Gill is becoming the backbone of our batting lineup! So consistent across formats. Hope he continues this form throughout the series. Also great to see Pant back in form after his injury ðŸ‘
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