‘India will still win this match easily’- Fans react as England take the honours on Day 3 of Hyderabad Test vs India

Ollie Pope smashed a magnificent century to put England in a strong position at the end of day three of the first Test against India in Hyderabad. Pope’s unbeaten 148 helped England reach 316 for 6 at stumps, a lead of 126 runs. Pope was well supported by Ben Foakes (34), but it was his innings that truly dominated the day. The 26-year-old right-hander batted with patience and skill, to put behind his nervous stay in the first innings and help England remain alive in this game.

England had been in trouble at 163 for 5 early in the day after losing the wickets of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow with a deficit still waiting to be wiped off. But Pope and Foakes steadied the innings with a partnership of 112, and then Pope and Rehan Ahmed added another 41 to put England in a respectable position.

India’s bowlers toiled hard, but they were unable to make further inroads into the England batting line-up. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 29. The rest of the bowlers (who bowled at least five overs) didn’t have a great day as teh English batters put them under pressure, keeping the run rate pretty high throughout the innings.

Can Pope set up a thriller on Day 4?

The match is evenly poised heading into day four, with England having a decent lead but India are still very much in the driver’s sea. If England can bat for another session or so and extend their lead to around 200-250, they will be in a strong position to put pressure on India in the second innings. For that, they will hope that Pope can continue on his merry way and if possible, go on to notch up his second double-ton in the traditional form of the game.

But if India can take early wickets, they will be in prime position to go to Visakhapatnam with a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be eager to come back fresh and pick up the remaining wickets before knocking over the target.

Here’s a look at how ‘X-verse’ reacted to the day’s proceedings:

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