England vice-captain Ollie Pope played an innings for the ages, smashing 196 runs to help his side post 420 runs on the board in their second innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Pope scored 196 runs off 278 balls, smashing 21 boundaries against India in the first Test in their five-match series. His innings helped England post 420 runs, setting India a 231-run target to win the match in Hyderabad.
Pope registered the fourth-highest individual score against India in Test matches, behind only Joe Root (218 in 2021), Mike Gatting (207 in 1985) and Graeme Fowler (201 in 1985).
IND vs ENG 1st Test, Day 4: Live score and updates
In fact, Pope also became the first visiting batter to register a 150-plus score in the second innings of a Test in India since 2013.
Most runs by visiting batters in 2nd innings in India
Andy Flower (ZIM): 232* in 2000
Brendon McCullum (NZ): 225 in 2010
Gary Sobers (WI): 198 in 1958
Ollie Pope (ENG): 196 in 2024
Pope went past the 150-run early on Day 4 to extend England’s lead past 150 runs before Jasprit Bumrah struck to remove Rehan Ahmed in the first session.
The hosts opted for the second new ball after Pope rendered the spinners ineffective in the first session. After a 64-run stand with Rehan, Pope stitched an 80-run partnership with debutant Tom Hartley to take England past the 400-run mark. Pope was provided with a lifeline when KL Rahul dropped an easy chance at first slip while batting at 186.
POPE DOMINATES DAY 3
After posting 436 runs in their first innings, India picked early wickets to pile pressure on the visitors, with Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin claiming two wickets each. Bumrah removed Ben Duckett ad joe Root while Ashwin got the better of opener Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes to peg England back.
However, Pope played the role of the anchor, and despite wickets falling around him, kept the scoreboard ticking with some phenomenal stroke play. The England vice-captain brought out the sweeps and reverse-sweeps to tackle the Indian spinners to perfection.
He formed a crucial 112-run partnership with wicket-keeping batter Ben Foakes, while also bringing up his fifth Test century and his first against India. He ended the day unbeaten on 148 to help England take a 126-run lead at the end of Day 3.
India has not lost a home Test series in the last 12 years, beating England twice in that space of time. India got the better of England 4-0 in 2016/17 before beating them 3-1 in 2020/21. Interestingly, the last team to beat India at home was Alastair Cook’s England side in 2012/13.
