ENG vs NZ | Day 3 | Brilliance of Joe Root and Ollie Pope helps England fight back

The charismatic batting display of former captain Joe Root and youngster Ollie Pope was a sight to behold on Day 3 of the 2nd Test match between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge, as they hammered the visitors with their eye-catching shots.

The home team started Day 3 at 90/1, with Alex Lees and Pope at the crease. In the morning session, Lees took over as the anchor role and scored most of the runs. However, he was dismissed by Matt Henry for a well-made 67 off 125 balls. 

The Ex-skipper Joe Root was up next to the crease. The duo of Root and Pope played positively and put out the bad balls to the boundary and did not hesitate to have a go at the few good balls by the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. 

The duo scored runs at a good pace and never lost the momentum in the second session. In his only third innings at number three, Pope exuded confidence from his free-flowing strokes and brought his first century on home soil. 

In his last two innings at number three, the scores of the 24-year-old batter read 7 and 10, and he proved a point to his critics by this striking performance, who had cast doubts on his promotion. 

Root completed his fifty off 56 balls. But soon, he received a reprieve at 52 in the 63rd over, wherein he tried to hit a nothing shot at the leg side, which caught the edge, but the ball landed between the wicket-keeper Tom Blundell and Kyle Jamieson. In the same over, Root hit a terrific straight drive for a four to complete a clinical 100-run partnership with Pope. 

After that, Root looked at his finest and soon achieved the fastest century of his career, coming in 116 balls. In this pursuit. He equalled the record of 27 Test centuries of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. 

Pope, unfortunately, lost his wicket to Boult in the initial overs of the final session after scoring his highest Test score of 145, comprising 13 fours and three sixes. 

Then, Bairstow was dismissed for a nominal score of eight by Boult as well. Captain Ben Stokes produced a quickfire knock of 46 off 33 balls before getting dismissed to the debutant Michael Bracewell. 

At the end of Day 3, England are at 473/5, with Root at 163* and Ben Foakes at 24*, and trail by 80 runs. 

Brief Scores: 

England (1st innings) - 473/5 (114 overs)

Joe Root 163* (200), Ollie Pope 145 (239);

Trent Boult 3/89 (26.3)

New Zealand - 553/10 (145.3)

Daryl Mitchell 190 (318), Tom Blundell 106 (198);

James Anderson 3/62

England Trail by 80 runs