NEW DELHI: Ollie Pope, playing on his home turf at the Oval, rediscovered his batting touch and scored his first century as England’s captain during the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Prior to this match, Pope had struggled with the bat, accumulating only 30 runs in four innings since taking over the captaincy from the injured Ben Stokes at the beginning of the series, AFP reported.
However, when poor light conditions forced an early end to the day’s play, Pope remained unbeaten on 103 off just 103 balls, putting England in a strong position at 221-3.
Despite winning the toss and opting to field first, Sri Lanka, who trail the three-match series 2-0, were unable to capitalize on the favorable bowling conditions, which included overcast skies and a pitch with a tinge of green.
England opener Ben Duckett squandered an opportunity to reach his century on Friday, as he once again lost his wicket after scoring 86 runs.
Despite England’s dominant performance, Sri Lanka had a moment to celebrate when they dismissed Joe Root for 13 runs, just before the tea break. Root’s dismissal came after his record-breaking feat at Lord’s, where he scored two centuries and surpassed the previous England record with his 34th Test hundred.
England, having already secured a 3-0 victory against the West Indies earlier in the season, are now aiming for their first clean sweep in a home Test campaign since 2004, when Michael Vaughan led the team to seven consecutive wins.
Duckett wasted no time in making his presence felt, as he confidently struck consecutive fours off Milan Rathnayake’s deliveries through the cover region.
Lawrence out cheaply
It was a different story for makeshift opener Dan Lawrence, typically a middle-order batsman. With Zak Crawley sidelined due to injury, Lawrence was thrust into the role of opener for this series.
However, he struggled, managing just five runs before mistiming a short-pitched delivery from Lahiru Kumara, top-edging an easy catch to gully.
At number three, Ollie Pope got off the mark in style, cutting a loose delivery from fast bowler Rathnayake for four, and later hooking a six off Lahiru Kumara. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Ben Duckett raced to a brisk fifty, reaching the milestone in just 48 balls, including seven boundaries.
Despite the floodlights being on, the umpires deemed conditions too unsafe to continue and halted play due to bad light, with England at 76-1 after 15 overs. Shortly after, rain began to fall, delaying the match further until it resumed at 1410 GMT.
Duckett wasted no time, ramping Kumara for six over fine leg and then uppercutting him high over third man. Sri Lanka’s four-man pace attack struggled to maintain a consistent line and length throughout.
However, Duckett, nearing his fourth century in 26 Tests, fell short when an ambitious scoop off Rathnayake was mistimed and caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. His dismissal ended a 95-run partnership with Pope in just 16 overs.
Pope, 26, had a stroke of luck when a top-edged six off Kumara went his way, but Kumara struck back by dismissing Root, caught by Vishwa Fernando at fine leg despite Fernando slipping on the wet turf.
Pope, 84 not out at tea, completed his seventh Test hundred – and his first at The Oval -when he elegantly square-drove Asitha Fernando for his 13th boundary, bringing up his century off 102 balls, including two sixes. But once again, bad light forced the players off the field at 1653 GMT, and no further play was possible on Friday.
Prior to this match, Pope had struggled with the bat, accumulating only 30 runs in four innings since taking over the captaincy from the injured Ben Stokes at the beginning of the series, AFP reported.
However, when poor light conditions forced an early end to the day’s play, Pope remained unbeaten on 103 off just 103 balls, putting England in a strong position at 221-3.
Despite winning the toss and opting to field first, Sri Lanka, who trail the three-match series 2-0, were unable to capitalize on the favorable bowling conditions, which included overcast skies and a pitch with a tinge of green.
England opener Ben Duckett squandered an opportunity to reach his century on Friday, as he once again lost his wicket after scoring 86 runs.
Despite England’s dominant performance, Sri Lanka had a moment to celebrate when they dismissed Joe Root for 13 runs, just before the tea break. Root’s dismissal came after his record-breaking feat at Lord’s, where he scored two centuries and surpassed the previous England record with his 34th Test hundred.
England, having already secured a 3-0 victory against the West Indies earlier in the season, are now aiming for their first clean sweep in a home Test campaign since 2004, when Michael Vaughan led the team to seven consecutive wins.
Duckett wasted no time in making his presence felt, as he confidently struck consecutive fours off Milan Rathnayake’s deliveries through the cover region.
Lawrence out cheaply
It was a different story for makeshift opener Dan Lawrence, typically a middle-order batsman. With Zak Crawley sidelined due to injury, Lawrence was thrust into the role of opener for this series.
However, he struggled, managing just five runs before mistiming a short-pitched delivery from Lahiru Kumara, top-edging an easy catch to gully.
At number three, Ollie Pope got off the mark in style, cutting a loose delivery from fast bowler Rathnayake for four, and later hooking a six off Lahiru Kumara. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Ben Duckett raced to a brisk fifty, reaching the milestone in just 48 balls, including seven boundaries.
Despite the floodlights being on, the umpires deemed conditions too unsafe to continue and halted play due to bad light, with England at 76-1 after 15 overs. Shortly after, rain began to fall, delaying the match further until it resumed at 1410 GMT.
Duckett wasted no time, ramping Kumara for six over fine leg and then uppercutting him high over third man. Sri Lanka’s four-man pace attack struggled to maintain a consistent line and length throughout.
However, Duckett, nearing his fourth century in 26 Tests, fell short when an ambitious scoop off Rathnayake was mistimed and caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. His dismissal ended a 95-run partnership with Pope in just 16 overs.
Pope, 26, had a stroke of luck when a top-edged six off Kumara went his way, but Kumara struck back by dismissing Root, caught by Vishwa Fernando at fine leg despite Fernando slipping on the wet turf.
Pope, 84 not out at tea, completed his seventh Test hundred – and his first at The Oval -when he elegantly square-drove Asitha Fernando for his 13th boundary, bringing up his century off 102 balls, including two sixes. But once again, bad light forced the players off the field at 1653 GMT, and no further play was possible on Friday.
