“The way Pope played was a masterclass” - Joe Root

England are effectively 126/6 at the end of Day 3 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. It’s a position very few would have imagined England to be in at this stage after they conceded a 190-run lead to India in the first innings. However, the way England played on Day 3 shifted quite a bit of momentum towards them, bringing the match on the precipice of an interesting finish. 

It was largely possible due to Ollie Pope’s innings of 148(208)* that not only saw through some really critical spells of bowling but also counterattacked with his sweeps on both sides of the wicket. Speaking to Eoin Morgan after the end of the day’s play, Joe Root acknowledged that and showered a lot of praise over the young English batter. 

“The way that Popey [Ollie Pope] played, in particular, has been an absolute master class on scoring runs in this part of the world when you are not used to playing here. To be able to constantly make the right decision under pressure, in big moments and games, is commendable.”

Root also praised how England could fold India’s innings early on Day 3. Root himself took a four-wicket haul that included two wickets on the trot in the morning session. He especially stressed the importance of the opening stand between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. 

“The way that we went about it from the very start, we wet so clinical with the ball and made it very difficult for them to capitalise on what they did yesterday.”

“And that opening stand, it could have been very tricky to lose a couple of early wickets, but they’ve been so good for the last couple of years, getting us off to brilliant starts.”