Pope, Root Fifties Extend England's Dominance

England's batters made the most of the bright sunshine and favourable conditions, scoring 107 runs in the morning session on Day 3 of the fourth Test in Manchester. Joe Root and Ollie Pope brought up their half-centuries, putting on an unbroken 135-run partnership as India endured a wicketless session.

Root and Pope scored freely, with Root breaking a few records – becoming the first batter to score 1000 Test runs at Old Trafford, and moving past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to third on the all-time Test run-scorers' list. Pope brought up his fifty, but struggled to find his rhythm, troubled by Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja.

The duo rotated the strike well, working the ball to the onside and taking advantage of India's middle-and-leg line. Root played a reverse sweep for a boundary off Washington, followed by a single, to reach his half-century. He then slammed one past Washington and played a lovely late cut off Jadeja for a couple of fours before the break.

England reached 332/2 at Lunch, only 26 runs behind India's total of 358.