England’s batters capitalized on the bright sunshine and suitable conditions in the first session on Day 3 of the fourth Test against India in Manchester. Joe Root and Ollie Pope composed fifties during an unscathed 135-run partnership that guided England to 332/2 at Lunch, only 26 runs behind. The hosts scored 107 runs in the session in 28 overs, with the visitors enduring a fruitless toil.
Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj kicked off the proceedings before Jasprit Bumrah was introduced into the attack in the third over, only to be whipped for a four by Root. Pope hit Siraj for two boundaries in his second over, while Bumrah retaliated with a probing spell and nearly found Pope’s outside edge. India squandered their second review when Siraj rapped Root on the pad, but replays confirmed the ball was sliding down leg.
Root enjoyed the rub of the green when the usually proficient Ravindra Jadeja missed a run-out opportunity at the non-striker’s end. England reached 250 as Pope pulled Bumrah for a boundary, while on the other hand Root became the first batter to score 1000 Test runs at Old Trafford, eclipsing Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to claim the third spot on the all-time Test run-scorers’ list.
India were a bit sloppy in the second hour. Siraj fired in a wild throw that cost India precious runs. Dhruv Jurel was keeping up to the stumps to Anshul Kamboj, who was bowling under 130 kph, and missed a difficult take as Pope gloved one trying to run it down to third man. He proceeded to bring up his fifty but wasn’t looking in perfect harmony, troubled by both Kamboj and Jadeja.
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Pope and Root kept the scoreboard ticking with singles when India controlled the boundaries, with a stump-attacking line playing in the hands of the England batters as they were able to bring their wristwork to the fore. After 68 overs in the innings, Washington Sundar was finally summoned by captain Shubman Gill and Root reverse swept the off-spinner for a boundary. He soon accomplished his 104th fifty-plus score which took him to the second position on the all-time list, ahead of Ricky Ponting. Root hammered one past Washington and executed a cheeky late cut off Jadeja for a couple of fours before the break.
Brief Scores: India 358 lead England 332/2 (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84, Ollie Pope 70*, Joe Root 63*; Ravindra Jadeja 1-59) by 26 runs.
