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Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 148* proved to be key as it gave England a fighting chance in an engrossing Day 3 of their ongoing first Test match against India, in Hyderabad on Saturday. Responding to India’s first innings total of 436, England fought back with 316/6 at Stumps on Day 3, taking a lead of 126 runs.
For India’s bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin took two-wicket hauls respectively. Meanwhile, the day began with Joe Root removing Ravindra Jadeja, (87) which also saw him get a four-wicket haul. Root also removed Jasprit Bumrah.
Meanwhile, former BCCI president and ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly made a massive prediction on the ongoing five-match Test series. “India will win the series, the matter is whether they will win it 4-0 or 5-0. Every Test will be decisive. England could have won this Test match had they batted well. One cannot win against India by making 230 or 240 runs on Indian soil. Had they made 350 or 400, they could have beaten India, but they weren’t able to do that. It’s a tough series for England. Any team other than the Australia of that era could not create any impact here,” he said.
Ganguly also feels that England’s Bazball approach won’t work in the first Test, due to its fast manner. He also felt that the sub-continent’s spinning wickets don’t compliment Bazball.
Ganguly also made another prediction, and this time it was about the T20 World Cup. “India have a good chance in the T20 World Cup. Recently, India played in the World Cup final, and it was miserable that they lost against Australia. I didn’t expect that after playing in a very good manner throughout the tournament they will lose, but it happens in sports,” he said.
“India is a very good side. There will be another opportunity for India as the conditions in the West Indies and America are like India. The IPL will serve as a preparation for the World Cup,” he added.
Pope and Rehan Ahmed (16*) will resume batting for England on Day 4, and they will look to increase their lead to at least 200, which will see them actually get a fighting chance against India.
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