IND vs ENG 1st Test Day 2 Highlights: Ollie Pope's century help England post 209/3 at stumps, trail India by 262 runs

A captivating day of cricket concludes. England is likely the more content of the two teams. India was unable to take full advantage of the lead established on the first day, getting dismissed for 471 after Rishabh Pant achieved a record-setting seventh Test century. England's reply was consistent with its aggressive batting strategy, as they quickly reached 209/3, with Pope contributing a century. India's bowling success was largely due to Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed all three English wickets that fell and might have secured a fourth if not for a no-ball in the final over.

Rishabh Pant resumed his innings on 65, having adopted a cautious strategy on Day 1. The wicketkeeper began Day 2 by scoring runs consistently, hitting boundaries with regularity. He particularly targeted Shoaib Bashir, hitting a six that brought him into the 90s, followed by another six that secured his century. This marked his third century in England, the highest by a visiting wicketkeeper. Overall, it was his seventh century, surpassing MS Dhoni’s previous record of six.

Gill resumed his innings on 127, adding another 20 runs before getting caught at mid-wicket. The Indian captain aimed to accelerate his scoring and spectacularly achieve his first 150+ score, but ended up miscuing his shot. This was his highest score in Test cricket and also the second highest by an Indian on their debut as captain.

Similar to Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair’s comeback to the Indian team after 8 years did not go as planned. Coming in to bat with the score at 430/4, Nair had an excellent opportunity to establish his innings. Unfortunately, he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. The 33-year-old played a half-hearted drive to a full delivery, resulting in Ollie Pope taking a remarkable catch.

At the time, Shubman Gill was batting on 147, and Rishabh Pant had already scored a century. India appeared poised for a total exceeding 600. However, what followed was a frustrating collapse. Despite favorable batting conditions, India fell from 430/3 to 471 all out around the Lunch break. The visitors lost their last 7 wickets for a mere 41 runs, giving England a chance to re-enter the match.

Also read| IND vs ENG: Rishabh Pant creates history, overtakes Rohit Sharma in elite World Test Championship list