IND vs ENG: Ollie Pope Becomes Second Visiting Batter to Score 2nd Innings Century in India Since 2018

England batter Ollie Pope scored a fine century in the second innings against India to keep the visitors alive in the first Test match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Pope fought a lone battle for England when other batters struggled to put up a big score.

It was Pope’s fifth Test ton and the first he scored in the second innings of the match. He reached his fifth Test ton with three runs off Ravindra Jadeja in Hyderabad as he took off his helmet and raised his bat to soak in the applause.

Pope’s hundred — his first against India — came in 154 balls including 10 boundaries.

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The 26-year-old, playing his 39th Test since his debut in 2018, has scored over 2,000 runs with a personal best of 205.

Meanwhile, the Englishman became the second batter to score a century in the second innings against the Asian Giants in India since 2018.

Second innings hundreds vs India in India since 2018

107 Dimuth Karunaratne – Bengaluru in 2022

100* Ollie Pope – Hyderabad in 2024

England were 172-5 at the break in Hyderabad after beginning the second innings behind by 190 after the hosts were bowled out for a mammoth 436 in the morning session.

Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked two wickets each.

Zak Crawley fell to Ashwin’s off-spin early but England raced to 89-1 at lunch after Ben Duckett defied the Indian attack with back-and-forth sweeps to keep the scoring rate above five per over.

Bumrah bowled a sensational spell after lunch to get Duckett bowled for 47, soon after the batsman survived an lbw call that would have likely been upheld if reviewed.

He then got veteran batsman Joe Root lbw for two to raise the volume of a raucous weekend crowd.

Ravindra Jadeja bowled Jonny Bairstow for 10 and Ashwin got his second after bowling Stokes.

India resumed the day on 421-7 in response to England’s first innings total of 246 and overnighters Jadeja and Axar Patel started cautiously, with just six runs scored in the first half-hour.

Root, who returned figures of 4-79, got Jadeja out and bowled Bumrah on the next ball but Mohammed Siraj avoided the hat-trick.

Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed cleaned up Axar on 44 to end the innings inside the first hour.

Spinner Jack Leach, who injured his knee while fielding on day one and again on day two, took the field heavily bandaged and bowled just one over in the morning.

(With Agency Inputs)