A masterclass century by Ollie Pope against all odds kept England in the hunt against India in the first Test at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Saturday.The Popish knock helped the visitors to take a crucial 126-run lead over the hosts and gave them hope to set at least a target of 200 plus runs for India on Day 4.
Pope deserved all the adulations and the handshakes from the Indian players as he walked off the field and acknowledged a standing ovation by the spectators from the stands.
India could have done better, but England did well to dig in after a collapse in the post-lunch session. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin had the visitors on the mat at 172/5 at Tea.
Pope, however, dug in and brought England back into the game with an unbeaten 148, becoming the first overseas batsman to belt a century in the second innings against India.
Aiding him was Ben Foakes as the duo put on a gallant 112 runs stand for the sixth wicket. Pope was dropped on 110 by Axar Patel and made India pay for it.
Joe Root emerged as the star spinner for England as he bagged four wickets and restricted India to only add 15 runs to their overnight 421/7.Ravindra Jadeja and Axar made a cautious start to the day in their pursuit to stretch India's lead, with Root deploying at least six close-in fielders to intimidate batsmen.
Jadeja could not reach his century after Root dismissed him leg-before for a well-made 87 but helped India get a good lead of 190 runs.Bumrah was cleaned up of a beauty from Root who came round the stumps with the ball deceiving the batsman's bat and pad.
Mohammad Siraj, however, denied Root his hattrick and five-fer, but Rehan Ahmed rattled Axar's timbers off a low-spinning ball.
Ashwin managed to get an aggressive Crawley's (31) wicket a few minutes before lunch, but Duckett kept the tunes of Bazball cricket ringing in the ears of the close-in Indian fielders as England reduced the deficit to 101 in just 15 overs at the stroke of lunch break.
India burst back strongly with some extraordinary bowling by Bumrah and Indian spinners to snap up four wickets as England hobbled to 172/5 at Tea, trailing the hosts by 18 runs.
England's Bazball kickoff in the second innings received a beating, thanks to Bumrah's fiery spell early in the post-lunch session.
It just took an over for Bumrah to clean up Duckett (47 off 52) after captain Rohit Sharma decided against taking a DRS on a leg before shout in his previous over, which had clipped the leg stump.
Bumrah essayed a torrid time for the visiting batsmen with his yorkers and deceptive change of pace. He dismissed Joe Root, England's best batsman, trapping him leg before the wicket for two even as DRS worked against him.
Jonny Bairstow, who changed his tactics with a slightly open stance, weathered Bumrah's storm, but was foxed by Jadeja's chicanery after making 10.After getting one to turn away from his outside edge, Jadeja kept the next ball straight, knocking off Bairstow's off-stump as he left the ball alone anticipating a similar turn.
Pope, meanwhile, reached his half-century in a hurry, but the English repartee tweaked disfavoring them.Ben Stokes dug in to negotiate Ashwin's spin, but the wily spinner had the last laugh by rattling his stumps in an attempt to defend a flight dipping in off a fuller length.
With this, Ashwin dismissed Stokes (6 off 33) for the 12th time in Tests. David Warner is next on his list at 11 times.India did not stop at picking up wickets but denied a boundary for the last 64 balls of the session.
In the post-Tea session, the track offered a very slow spin, prompting the England batsmen to use their feet to give a tonk. In the 30.1 overs that Pope and Foakes batted, they ably put England in a respectable position before the latter succumbed to Axar's slider.
Pope carried on the good work alongside a gritty Rehan Ahmed, who remained unbeaten on 16 when the stumps were drawn.Even after a determined batting display, England will need to extend a sizeable lead to make a match out of it, considering India is on the verge of opting for a new ball.(UNI)
Brief scores
England 246 & 316/6 (Ollie Pope 148*, Ben Duckett 47; Jasprit Bumrah 2-29, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-93) lead India 436 (Ravindra Jadeja 87, KL Rahul 86; Joe Root 4/79) by 126 runs
