Leeds, June 22 (IANS) England opener Ben Duckett lauded Ollie Pope for his unbeaten century on day two of the first Test between England and India at Headingley, admitting that he had goosebumps watching under-pressure Ollie raising his ton.

Pope came into the series against India under pressure, with doubts about his spot at No 3 after a poor record against India and Australia and not quelled by that 171 against Zimbabwe. Many were even suggesting that Jacob Bethell should replace him, especially with the Ashes coming up this winter.

Pope celebrated his ninth Test century , scoring 100 from 125 deliveries with 13 fours after inside-edging a Jasprit Bumrah in-seamer towards the leg side, as England trail India by 262 runs after reaching 209/3 in 49 overs at stumps on Day Two of the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.

“I had goosebumps for him. You go one down and he comes in and takes all the pressure on you and scores quick. He is such a legend and such a big part of this team. We know there is noise outside the dressing room so to go and score 171 then 100 is something else. If he does get in, he gets 100s and someone like him at 3 against India, it is a no brainer. Popey scored 100s, and he did it away as well when we won- he is a match winner. It is a great start to the series for him,” Duckett told Sky Sports.

Duckett, who himself scored 62 before inside-edging Jasprit Bumrah on to his stumps, and heaped praise onto India’s spearhead, who ended the day on brilliant figures of 3-48.

“He is the best bowler in the world. He’s extremely hard to face. He’s good in any conditions; he’s good in India on the flattest pitches ever and when he’s coming in down the hill at Headingley with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways. I feel like we minimised the damage early on.

“It could have been a lot worse today… He is just a world-class bowler, and you can’t let someone like him just bowl; he’s too good for that. You’ve got to still try and put him under pressure, and try to put the bad balls away,” Duckett said.

–IANS

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