At the end of a third day fightback from England came a possible passing of the baton, Joe Root insisting Ollie Pope had set a new benchmark for his teammates in subcontinental conditions and shown they can compete against India’s spinners.
With five centuries and more than 2,000 Test runs in Asia, Root is the obvious go-to batter for any advice among the squad. But after watching Pope’s masterclass in the first Test in Hyderabad, an innings that helped turn a 190-run deficit into a lead of 126, with six wickets down, the former captain told them to look elsewhere.
