Key events
61st over: England 245-5 (Pope 101, Foakes 30) The ball has gone out of shape and is going to be changed, I feel even more nervous as I type that. Pope and Foakes have played so well to get England into a lead but it only stands at 55 runs and we’ve seen wickets fall in clumps.
Must admit, I didn’t see a Pope second-innings hundred coming after the way he played on the first morning, but that’s a gutsy, classy effort.
— Lawrence Booth (@BoothCricket) January 27, 2024
Ollie Pope’s 5th Test hundred and first – for now – as the lone centurion in an innings.
Chanced his arm plenty and, ultimately, rewarded for it #IndvEng
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) January 27, 2024
Ollie Pope scores a fifth Test Century!
There it is! A clip through midwicket for three runs sees Pope go to three figures! He removes his helmet to reveal a sweat drenched mini-mullet and gives a wave of the bat back to the bazboys who stand and applaud. That is some knock, he’s inching England back into contention in this Test match. Inching.
60th over: England 239-5 (Pope 97, Foakes 28) Pope reverse-sweeps Ashwin for a single to go to 97. Tension surging through my fingers, can barely hold by toast and type at the same time.
59th over: England 235-5 (Pope 96, Foakes 25) Pope goes within four of the big one with a clip off Jadeja to the gap at midwicket.
Helllo to Niall Mullen – “England playing dead before sucker punching their opponents? Real pope-a-dope tactics.”
BuddumTscchhh
58th over: England 233-5 (Pope 95, Foakes 25) The England fans in the stadium are on their feet and belting out some “tunes” as Pope is now within one lusty blow of a magnificent century. Five runs off Ashwin’s over, the highlight a rubber wristed flick for two by Ben Foakes.
57th over: England 228-5 (Pope 93, Foakes 22) The Siraj experiment is short lived, Rohit recalling Jadeja into the attack. A couple of singles to each batter stretch England’s lead to 39 runs. The crowd are definitely getting a leeetle bit restless now.
56th over: England 226-5 (Pope 92, Foakes 21) Ollie Pope becomes the first man in the Test match to breach the ninety run mark, IF he gets there this will surely be his finest knock in an England shirt? Taking into account the bowling attack, the conditions and the match situation. Seven runs pocketed off Ashwin including a delightful reverse-sweep for four from the Papal one.
55th over: England 219-5 (Pope 87, Foakes 19) The fifty partnership comes up between this pair as Pope picks up a couple through point off the returning Siraj. The seamer is a bit rusty after his break and serves up four more byes down the leg side.
54th over: England 211-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) Now then – eleven runs off the over. A tidy haul for England who creep ahead by 21 runs. Ashwin beats Pope and the keeper with a sharply turning ball that runs away fine for four byes. England will take ‘em any which way. Pope drops a single, Foakes clips a brace and then sweeps confidently behind square for four. Rack ‘em up.
53rd over: England 200-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) A Bumrah maiden to Foakes. India fans beginning to get a little restless at the lack of a breakthrough post tea.
Dennis John’s is in the OBO mailbag and inadvertantly confirming my long held belief. How do you know if someone does park run? They tell you.
“Morning Jim, Hope this doesn’t jinx anything but very pleasing to finish park run and find we’ve not lost a wicket since I left home.” I’m only teasing Dennis. You are just making me feel bad for lying prone on my sofa whilst chomping through a mound of buttered toast.
“One for nickname corner: wondering if, bearing in mind where the Oval is, and in tribute to Danny the Dealer, we can christen Oli Pope the Camberwell Carrot?”
52nd over: England 200-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) Pope and Foakes are combining well to scamper singles where they can. The 200 comes up for England. Pope n Hope.
51st over: England 197-5 (Pope 82, Foakes 11) Bumrah is searching for the toe-crusher but slides it too far down the leg side. Pope is annoyed he didn’t get a tickle on it for an easy boundary but he does keep strike with a push into the off side off the last ball.
England could have easily lost this Test by an innings. Fact they haven’t is at least something. Maybe like Ahmedabad in 2012 (when India won by 9 wickets chasing 77), a spirited 2nd innings performance could give them confidence to take into rest of the series?
— Chris Stocks (@StocksC_cricket) January 27, 2024
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
50th over: England 195-5 (Pope 81, Foakes 10) Jadeja beats Pope with snorting turn off his first ball but the ginger one punches back with a sweep through midwicket that Ashwin and Patidar leave to each other only for the ball to trickle into the sponge.
49th over: England 191-5 (Pope 77, Foakes 10) Bumrah spears in a maiden with a slip and gully in place. Foakes is concentrating intently as Jasprit goes full, zoning in on pads, toes and stumps.
“G’day James, I feel Victor Manley could be onto something. It puts me in mind of the classic Machiavelli quote about the reformer receiving vitriol from those who currently prosper, while getting only lukewarm support from those who might stand to gain from a new regime. Personally, as the child of an Englishman and a New Zealander, I dislike Bazball because it conjures images normally reserved for the most off-putting of Rorschach tests…”
Arf Rowan Sweeney. We’re very highbrow this morning aren’t we? I’m all for it. The OBO salon.
48th over: England 191-5 (Pope 77, Foakes 10) England take the lead! Three runs off Jadeja and that is a decent effort from England to cancel out the deficit of 190 runs. They’d dearly love to have a few more wickets in the hutch but Pope is going nicely and is being ably supported by Pope. Dare to dream… but not for long – Bumrah is coming back into the attack.
47th over: England 188-5 (Pope 76, Foakes 9) Crikey! Pope pushes into the midwicket region and calls Foakes for a second… he had to put the afterburners on there to make his ground! England do not, repeat NOT need a run out in these circumstances.
46th over: England 186-5 (Pope 74, Foakes 9) England continue their proactive re-start since tea. Pope clips square for a single and Foakes picks up three runs with a whip wide of mid on. Jadeja keeps Pope honest by ripping one past the outside edge.
45th over: England 181-5 (Pope 72, Foakes 6) Foakes is stoic, blocks out a maiden from Axar.
It’s a battle for day 4 now. England haven’t fallen in a heap in either innings but are still well short here.
Could be a long tour.— Rory Dollard (@thervd) January 27, 2024
44th over: England 181-5 (Pope 72, Foakes 6) England have started positively post tea, probably had a slug of Bazball in their chai during the break. Pope drives Jadeja down through mid on for four to take the deficit into single figures.
Ciao Colum Fordham:
“Morning Jim, greetings from a gloriously sunny Rome. As they say, all roads lead to the Italian capital. As for the Test match, I’d say all roads lead to an Indian victory but as long as we have the Pope…”
If he gets a big ton from here I’ll let off some ceremonial white smoke of my own, Colum. I do have plenty of receipts to get rid of. Can’t be too careful.
43rd over: England 177-5 (Pope 68, Foakes 6) Here come the players post tea. Axar Patel with the first over, he’s around the wicket with one slip in place. Shot! Patel goes too full and Foakes plays a perfect cover drive to pick up his first boundary, waiting until the ball was right under his nose before unfurling fully.
“Dear James, Loving the coverage.”
Too kind Victor Manley.
“Not to venture too far into psychosocial theorising, but isn’t the criticism of Bazball rather predictable based on the usual acceptance pathway of other evolutions/revolutions in science and culture? Darwinism. Coltrane’s adventures into the Avant-garde. Star wars: the phantom menace. In other words, everyone (even early supporters) sort of want new things to fail. Change being scary, and all that. Because it undoubtedly is. Too much for a Saturday morning?”
haha. No I like this Victor. A friend and his dad took me to the cinema to see Phantom Menace when it came out and… I fell asleep. I was about 12 years old. Stars Wars never my thing but even I knew Jar Jar Binks was rooobish. Reminds me of this scene from the excellent Spaced too:
“What a…
Bumpin’ Bumrah. If you haven’t already do do do do give this excellent interview our man Ali Martin did with Jasprit Bumrah just before the Test got underway.
Tea: England 170-5 (trail India by 18 runs)
Sweet relief. England make it to tea after a Jadeja maiden but have suffered a bruising session there, losing Duckett, Root, Bairstow and Stokes to some ridiculously skilful bowling. Ollie Pope has played beautifully for his 67*, looking to be positive and using his feet and in general appearing much less skittish.
42nd over: England 172-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2)
41st over: England 170-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2) Axar returns and sends down a maiden in the time it takes me to take a singular slurp of Kenco.
Get a load of this:
That noise eh? I was once moved to crap on about it. Gudddunk!
40th over: England 170-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2) There are just over five minutes til tea. England will be glad to reach safe harbour Mind you, India can probably rattle through eight over in that space of time.
“Morning James! If Pope can make, say, 186, this could be interesting. Whatever happens, love watching both these teams. Long live Test cricket.”
Vive la SimonMcMahon!
39th over: England 170-5 (Pope 64, Foakes 1) Pope is proactive, clipping Ashwin to leg and pushing hard to come back for two. Foakes is off the mark with a neat flick to midwicket.
Meanwhile – in Australia:
38th over: England 159-4 (Pope 58, Foakes 0) Pope picks up two with a glide through point and adds a third off the over by leaning on a length ball into the covers. Foakes defends the last three. England trail by 24.
37th over: England 163-5 (Pope 58, Foakes 0) Welcome Ben Foakes. Here, have a first ball that pitches on a good length and rears up sharply to just miss the outside edge of your forward prod. Will you be staying long, sir?
Ashwin dismisses Ben Stokes for the 12th time in Tests, more than any other batsman. No one has dismissed Stokes more often, either.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) January 27, 2024
WICKET! Stokes b Ashwin 6 (England 163-5)
You cannot play that Ben Stokes! And to be very fair – NO ONE else would have been able to either. Ashwin is a genius, he fires in a faster delivery that pitches on middle and leg and careers off the biscuit surface and takes out the off stump. Unplayable.
36th over: England 159-4 (Pope 58, Stokes 5) Eeesht. Stokes is beaten by a sharp one. Passed by the off stump close enought to whisper a sweet nothing or two into the bail groove. He gets off strike next ball and Pope gets on his haunches to sweep a single into the deep.
35th over: England 157-4 (Pope 57, Stokes 4) Ashwin stitches together his third maiden in a row.
G’Morning to Tom v Ducht:
“It’s always fun to get up in the morning and scroll through the match so far on the OBO to get a in-depth rundown of events thus far. It’s striking how harsh some of the criticism of England seems to be. Hammering McCullum and Stokes for their approach is a bit like bemoaning Heston Blumenthal’s menu for not selling steak and chips. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but why not marvel at it’s daring and ingenuity.
Secondly, complaining about our spinners and comparing them to India’s (who are some of the best in the world and in their own backyard) isn’t a fair comparison: the cupboard was relatively bare but they’re still not wilting under pressure and having a pop at the champ. It’s a bit like laying into Ipswich Town’s attacking play because their players aren’t Premiership quality rather than applauding their intent.”
I largely agree and also admire your clarity of thought and your analogies at this time on a Saturday morning, Tom.
34th over: England 157-4 (Pope 57, Stokes 4) Jadeja skips in for another. A couple of singles poked into the off side by Stokes and Pope and a front foot no ball adds another to England’s total.
Guy Hornsby is on the wires with a neat precis:
“Morning from a chilly with Manchester Jim. Despite the fact England are going to lose by a long way, it’s at least heartening to see our batters making a better go of it. They are just coming up against a truly brilliant, relentless attack. Duckett’s shot was rash, but he was undone by Bumrah’s wrist, and Root was done by his habit of falling to off and Bumrah’s incredible skill. Bairstow was playing well but two balls from Jadeja looked identical and went separate ways. Sometimes you have to just marvel at this all. It would be great if we could get a reasonable lead and at least make India bat again, but no one comes here and finds it easy. The worry, by far, is the bowling. We just plain got it wrong here, sadly. And Leach’s knee just makes the picks we have even more exposed. Root is effectively our no 1 now.”
33rd over: England 154-4 (Pope 56, Stokes 3) Ashwin rattles off a maiden. He skids the first ball past Stokes groping blade and the England captain totters forward slightly. India go up for the stumping but the screen shows that Stokes kept a couple of toes grounded in the crease. The sun beats down and the pressure cooker rises in Hyderabad. Here in South London, my beloved bring me a steaming mug of Kenco. We’re both a bit fragile this morning after going to see All Of Us Strangers at the cinema last night. Be gentle with me. If England collapse here then my tearducts might very well crank into action again.
32nd over: England 154-4 (Pope 56, Stokes 3) My fingers (and let’s be honest coffee-less brain) are struggling to keep up this morning. Jadeja gets through his over in the blink of eye, Ollie Pope shows fantastic intent by trotting down to a fuller ball and clipping it away for four runs. Five dots otherwise. England trail by 36, the game is dancing on a blade’s edge.
31st over: England 150-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 3) Ashwin to Stokes. Dot follows dot. Oohs and ahhs after every delivery. The pitch spits like a bag of angry cobras. Dot follows dot. A maiden.
30th over: England 150-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 3) Stokes is granite in defence. You’d want him defending for your life. Jadeja rattles though another over at Warp Speed decked in his shades and Karate bandana. Stokes cuts for a single to keep England ticking.
29th over: England 149-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 2) Ashwin to Stokes. Box office stuff. Stokes is wise enough to work a single into the gap first ball and get down t’other end. Hen’s teeth! Ashwin serves up a full bunger which Pope gladly flicks to the midwicket fence to bring up a fine fifty. A glide to point for two more, England continue to roll along at above five an over. They trail by 41.
28th over: England 142-4 (Pope 46, Stokes 1) Stokes nudges off his hip to get off the mark. Pope smothers the last ball to snuff out the rest of the over. India keep taking wickets, a lot of pressure now on the shoulders of Pope to go on and make this innings a big one.
WICKET! Jonny Bairstow b Jadeja 10 (England 140-4)
Two types of leave… Bairstow lets a straight one from Jadeja go and it scuds onto his off stump. He looks back down the track bemused. Excellent bowling from Jadeja who got the ball before to grip and turn past the edge the ball before. The wicket ball landed in the same spot and fizzed on to thud into the unprotected off pole. Here comes Ben Stokes. England trail by 48 runs with six second innings wickets in the hutch.
James Wallace
27th over: England 136-3 (Pope 46, Bairstow 6) Thanks Dan, hello all. Straight down to brass tacks as Axar whirls away after a slurp of something luminous. Bairstow nudges a single into the off side to bring Pope on strike. The Papal one then skips down the track and lofts to the fence over mid on. England chipping away. India chipping away too, mind.