'One of the best-ever knocks' - Ollie Pope's century leaves Joe Root speechless

England cricketer Joe Root lavished rich praise on his teammate Ollie Pope for his sensational innings in the ongoing first Test against India. He said that Pope played one of the best innings that he has seen in his career.

Ollie Pope was the hero of the day for England on Day 3 of the ongoing game against India in Hyderabad. The batter brought up his best ton in Test cricket and made sure that he took his team close to the chance of winning in the first game, which at one moment looked bleak.

Ollie Pope came to bat after England lost Zak Crawley. He made sure that the visitors kept the attacking game on and put the team under pressure. But after that, they lost wickets in quick succession as bowlers were all over them.

The real challenge for Ollie Pope then began but he cherished that well as he bailed his team out of trouble and held the fort. With the way he played spin, it looked like some sub-continent batter was playing as he had complete control over the shots he played.

Thanks to the brilliance of Ollie Pope, England took the first-innings lead and ended the day with 126 runs in the bank. The batter brought up his 5th Test century and stayed unbeaten at 148 runs at stumps on Day 3.

Joe Root hailed Ollie Pope’s innings as a masterclass, pointing out the way he batted in tough conditions. He lauded the batter, saying that it was great to see him playing such innings after coming off from the injury. Speaking after the Day’s play, he stated:

“The way that Pope has played today was honestly an absolute masterclass on how to bat in these conditions as an overseas player. Someone that’s not exposed to these surfaces day in and day out, to come off the back of a serious injury like he had in the summer with that amount of time out of the game, and then put together well, speechless, honestly, it’s just one of the best knocks that I’ve ever seen.”

That was really special today – Joe Root on Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 148 runs knock 

Joe Root further pointed out how Ollie Pope manipulated the field, hailing his concentration and determination. He further said that the batter’s innings was better than the runs he had got in subcontinent conditions. He elaborated:

“To manipulate the field as he did against that attack on that surface, to show that power of concentration and determination, and fitness and skills, all combined was immense.

“I might have scored a few runs in the subcontinent, but not on a surface like that against an attack like that. Honestly, that was really special today.”

At stumps on Day 3, England was 316/6. They would be hoping to extend their lead of 126 runs and get at least 200 runs under their belt. If they managed to get something around 200, it would be a real challenge for the Indian batters.