New Delhi: England’s stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope shined with the bat on the first day of the third Test match against Sri Lanka with a blistering century at the Kennington Oval, London. Pope, who remained unbeaten at the close of play on the first day scored 103 runs off as many balls including 13 boundaries and 2 massive sixes.
Pope, who came on to the crease after the early fall of the first wicket, stood firm like a rock to power the hosts to a respectable 221 for 3 at stumps on Friday. Along with Ben Duckett, who smashed remarkable 86-run knock, Pope dismantled the Lanka bowlers not allowing them any chances for the wicket. Enroute his special hundred, which was his 7th in Tests, Pope created a big record in the longest format of the game.
Ollie Pope majestic record
Ollie Pope became the first batter in the history to score his first seven Test hundreds against different opposition. The latest one coming against Sri Lanka on September 6, Pope scored his first Test century, an unbeaten 135, against South Africa. The English batter has also scored tons against Pakistan, India and West Indies.
Ollie Pope – The first batter in history to score his first seven Test hundreds against different opposition.
Take a bow, Ollie 🤝 pic.twitter.com/37hYVSfiN2
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2024
Here’s the list of Pope’s 7 hundreds
135* vs South Africa
145 vs New Zealand
108 vs Pakistan
205 vs Ireland
196 vs India
121 vs West Indies
103* vs Sri Lanka
Meanwhile, apart from Pope and Duckett, none of the England batters could impress on the first day of the five-day affair. Daniel Lawrence went back to the pavilion for 5 while the sensation Joe Root could only muster 13 runs. Young sensation Harry Brook had just started off and reached 8 runs when stumps were called. Brook along with Pope will resume England’s batting on Saturday.
Ollie Pope smashed a sensational century, his 7th in Test cricket on the first day of the third Test match against Sri Lanka on Friday. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
