Ind vs Eng 1st Test: Ollie Pope smashes century; England trail by 262 runs

For about 80 minutes on Saturday, India built assiduously on the wonderful platform established on Day One. Through their captain and his deputy, they kicked on from 359 for three and breezed past 400, raising realistic prospects of a tally well in excess of 500. Then, against the run of play, Shubman Gill holed out in the deep against off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, and the wheels came off spectacularly at Headingley. At stumps, England were 209-3.

India collapse

Having bossed the opening day’s exchanges, India found themselves pushed to a corner on the second day of the first Test against England. Numerically, they are still in front but a collapse of seven for 41, that saw them self-destruct from 430 for three to 471 all out, seemed to have done a number on them, despite a record seventh Test hundred from Rishabh Pant.

Pant has now scored more Test tons than any other Indian wicketkeeper — he was equal with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on six, until Saturday morning — and this was another typically exciting, risk-filled, thrill-a-minute compilation. Like always, he entertained and enthralled, but he was one of the seven that fell in a bizarre passage either side of lunch, dismissed without offering a stroke for the first time in his Test career.

Despite the collapse of stunning proportions, India’s total was anything but trifling. Furthermore, grey skies greeted them when they finally took the field at the start of England’s reply, some 43 minutes behind schedule due to a rain interruption. All eyes were understandably on Jasprit Bumrah (3-48) who, even without assistance, is more than a handful. With the odds stacked in his favour, he produced a surreal, supernatural first spell in which he was desperately unlucky not to pick up more than just Zak Crawley’s wicket.

Crawley goes early

Crawley, the tall right-hander, was packed off off the sixth delivery of the first over with a ball that was angled in but straightened on pitching, squared up the opener and went off edge and thigh to Karun Nair — whose comeback after eight years lasted just four balls — at first slip. That early success should have energised the visitors; instead, for some inexplicable reason, they went off the boil. 

They put down two catches, both eminently catchable — Ravindra Jadeja, off all people, reprieved Ben Duckett at point on 17 while Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully shelled Ollie Pope (100 not out) on 60. The bowler to suffer on both occasions was Bumrah, a constant threat whenever he had the ball in hand but without the greatest support at the other end from either Mohammed Siraj or Prasidh Krishna.

Duckett (62) and Pope punished the support fast-bowling cast for any indiscretion while also riding their luck when the ball nipped around off the seam. They scored briskly to further deflate Indian spirits when Bumrah, back for a second spell, forced Duckett to play on after a terrific stand of 122 with Pope. 

This article first appeared on Mid Day