Manchester [UK], July 25 : A century partnership between Ollie Pope and Joe Root brought England within the touching distance of India's first innings score as the Three Lions finished the first session with a score in excess of 300 runs on day three of the fourth Manchester Test on Friday.
At the end of the first session, England was 332/2, with Pope (70*) and Root (63*) unbeaten. They trail by 26 runs.
At the start of the first session, England was 225/2, with Pope (20*) and Root (11*) unbeaten.
England started off the day with a positive intent, with Mohammed Siraj leaking some runs and India missing out on a run-out chance to remove Root. Eventually, the duo reached their 50-run partnership.
With a fine shot for four against Bumrah, Pope helped England reach 250-run mark in 54.5 overs, as he attempted a fine pull shot through backward square leg, finding a gap in the leg side.
After his 31st run, Root overtook Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to become the third-highest run-getter of all time.
The relentless grind of Indian pacers Bumrah, Siraj and Anshul Kamboj did not pay off as Root-Pope continued to amass runs at a solid tempo. Pope was back among the runs, bringing up his fifty in 93 balls, with six fours.
Kamnoj missed a chance to dismiss Pope in the 63rd over as wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel could not catch the ball as Pope tried to guide the ball through the third man region. It was a tough chance, but a missed opportunity nonetheless.
A beautiful straight drive by Pope on a full-length delivery by Kamboj helped the duo reach their 100-run partnership in 172 balls.
England reached the 300-run mark in 66.5 overs.
Root also reached his half-century in 99 balls, with six fours. The duo continued to fine runs agains the spin pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
Root and Pope made sure England finished the session on a high.
At the end of day two, the Three Lions were 225/2 with Ollie Pope and Joe Root unbeaten on the crease. Enhans still trailed India's total of 358 by 133 runs.
The Ben Stokes-led side began the third and final session of the second day from 77/0 with Duckett (43*) and Crawley (33*) unbeaten on the crease.
On the first ball of the 19th over, bowled by right-arm seamer Shardul Thakur, Duckett brought his fifty as he hit a boundary. This boundary also brought up the hundred of the side.In the 21st over, Crawley completed his half-century as he slammed a boundary on the bowling of Shardul.In the 29th over, the England cricket team touched the 150-run mark as Duckett hit a boundary on the bowling of Mohammed Siraj.England lost their first wicket in the 32nd over at the score of 166 as left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Zak Crawley (84 runs off 113 balls).
After Crawley's dismissal, right-hand batter Zak Crawley came out to bat in the middle.At the score of 197, England lost their second wicket. Debutant Anshul Kamboj grabbed his maiden Test wicket as he sent Duckett (94 runs from 100 balls) back to the pavilion.
The team completed the 200-run mark in the 39th over as PPope slammed a boundary on the bowling of Kamboj.At the end of Day 2, England finished at 225/2 in their 46 overs. Before the end of play, both Pope and Root built an unbeaten 28(47) partnership.
Brief Scores: England: 332/2 (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84, Ravindra Jadeja 1/59) vs India: 358 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Rishabh Pant 58, Ben Stokes 5/72).
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