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India vs England 2024

'Ye Double century deserve karta tha' - Fans react as Ollie Pope misses out on double century against India in first Test

England entered Day 4 with a 126-run advantage on a potentially deteriorating pitch. But it hardly affected them as both Rehan Ahmed and Pope looked to negotiate the opening spell.

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Mathew K
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Ollie Pope (Source: Twitter)

The highly anticipated India-England Test series has lived up to expectations so far as Ollie Pope spearheaded England's resurgence in the opening match. The first Test in Hyderabad remains finely poised, with the visitors mounting a spirited comeback on Day 3. At 316/6 in their second innings, England entered Day 4 with a 126-run lead on a potentially deteriorating pitch. But it hardly affected them as both Rehan Ahmed and Pope looked to negotiate the opening spell.

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However, it was eventually the class of Jasprit Bumrah, who dismissed Rehan for a brilliant delivery to provide a little respite for India. However, this dismissal did not affect Pope, who kept on playing his shots. England’s vice-captain completed his 150 runs and looked comfortable in the middle to score his second double-century in Test match cricket.

But the wickets tumbling around him meant that he needed to gear up with a more aggressive brand of cricket. In trying to do so, he was unfortunately dismissed on 196 runs with a brilliantly bowled slower delivery from Bumrah. But it is courtesy of his innings that England are back in the game and now have a great chance to even win the Test match. Pope’s innings was full was sweeps and reverse sweeps, which unsettled the Indian spinners. Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this brilliant innings from England’s vice-captain:

 

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India eye on a historic chase in the first Test

The Indian team will be taking to bat in the second session with a target of 231 runs to get and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against England. However, the run chase will not be easy as the pitch will worsen as the game progresses on the fourth day. In addition, it is also to keep in mind that after 2014, the Indian side have chased a total of 200 runs only once. Hence, chasing this total will be indeed an achievement for the Indian team.

Moreover, England is also the last team to have defeated India in a Test series on their home turf, achieving this feat in 2012/13. However, they suffered significant series defeats, with margins of 0-4 and 1-3, during their last two tours in 2016/17 and 2020/21, respectively.

England Rohit Sharma Ollie Pope