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[Watch] Ollie Pope Leads England Fightback With A Stunning Counter-Attacking Century

image-lrvxpuwsOllie Pope in action against India on Day 3 in Hyderabad (BCCI)

English number three Ollie Pope completed a majestic counterattacking century against India in the final session of Day 3 of their series-opening first Test match at Hyderabad. The 26-year-old raced to his milestone figure from just 154 balls, thus listing his fifth century in Test cricket.

Pope’s counterpunch also lifted a stuttering English line-up past India’s 190-run first-innings advantage after the untimely dismissal of his captain Ben Stokes.


Ollie Pope takes the attack to India spinners

After Indian bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah collectively blew away England’s top-order by 163, number three batter and vice-captain Ollie Pope stood tall and defiant in his approach to lead his side’s recovery.

The cricketer shared 112 runs with wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes, which effectively put his team ahead of India. Pope ended up making his fifth Test match century in the final hour before stumps, thus drawing a thunderous applause from his English teammates as well as from a sporting Hyderabad crowd.

Earlier in the day, England spinners Joe Root and Rehan Ahmed polished off the Indian tail to restrict the hosts to 436 in the morning session. Up against a 190-run deficit, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett employed belligerent approach against the new-ball, before their dismissals triggered a colossal middle-order collapse for the visitors.

Fortunately for the visiting party, Ollie Pope overcame England’s middle-order struggles with a sublime century with handy partnerships towards the closing stages of the day. At the time of publishing, the cricketer reached 142* as England’s lead stretched past the 100-run mark.