news details |
|
|
| Day 1 report: Rahane's ton bails out India at Lord's | | | New Delhi, July 17: Once again India's lower order came to the team's rescue. An eighth-wicket 80-run stand between centurion Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar spared India's blushes on the opening day of the second Test at Lord's on Thursday. On a lively pitch, the English bowlers reduced India to 145 for 7 before the duo helped the tourists reach a respectable position - 290 for 9 at the close of play.
Rahane scored his second Test hundred, while Bhuvneshwar followed his two fifties in the first game at Trent Bridge with a valiant 36. Bhuvneshwar joined Rahane after allrounder Stuart Binny (9) was controversially given lbw off James Anderson, who finished the day as England's best bowler with figures of 4 for 55. Stuart Broad ended Bhuvneshwar's resistance with a delivery that kept a bit low, in the second over after the new ball.
Mohammed Shami (14*) and Ishant Sharma (12*) closed the day out for India but by all means it was Rahane's day. The Mumbai batsman completed his century with a drive off Anderson past point, an effort that was fully appreciated by a packed arena. However, two balls later Anderson avenged himself with a brilliant caught and bowled, ending Rahane's innings on 103 (155b, 15x4s, 1x6s).
England put themselves in complete ascendancy in the second session, reducing India to 140 for 6. India's start after lunch was not ideal as Virat Kohli, after making 25, edged one away-going Anderson delivery straight through to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. With that wicket, Anderson overtook Ian Botham as highest wicket-taker at the historic Lord's with 70 wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara's fall worsened the situation for India. The Saurashtra batsman, who made 28 off 117 balls, looked compact for the most part of his innings but failed to read an inswinger from Ben Stokes and lost his middle stump. Captain MS Dhoni had a very uncomfortable stay in the middle before edging Stuart Broad to Prior for one off 17 balls.
One would have thought Ravindra Jadeja would try to prove a few points in the wake of his row with Anderson but he tamely fell lbw to part-time spinner Moeen Ali for three. Sixty-seven runs at the expense of four wickets in 28 overs in the second session say a great deal about the struggle the Indian batsmen experienced on a lively track.
However, the visitors displayed dogged batting before losing the advantage late in the first session. Dhoni's men, after losing Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, went in to lunch at 73 for 2 with Pujara and Kohli at the crease. Things could have been worse for the visitors, had Prior caught Kohli off Moeen Ali off the last ball of the session.
Dhawan, during his innings of seven off 11 balls, looked miserable against moving deliveries and Anderson orchestrated his removal in the third over with a delivery that pitched on leg and went away from Dhawan and the opener edged it to third slip where Gary Ballance took a nice low catch. With the scalp, Anderson became the highest wicket-taker in England, overtaking Fred Trueman's tally of 229 wickets.
In the next over Broad almost accounted for last-match centurion Vijay whose edge Prior failed to grasp behind the wickets. But Vijay showed great application thereafter. He and Pujara, another batsman in form, dropped anchor and frustrated Broad and Anderson who shared the first 13 overs between them. Liam Plunkett and Stokes were meted out the same defensive treatment. But a few overs before lunch, against the run of play, Plunkett induced a leading edge off Vijay (24) as Ballance took another catch in third slip. The 37-run partnership lasted 18.4 overs.
There was no surprise when England captain Alastair Cook put India in to bat on a green pitch. Dhoni would have done the same, he said at the toss.
Both sides went into the match unchanged, bringing all speculation to an end that offspinner R Ashwin was set for a comeback. India's record at Lord's is poor. They have won just one Test here, lost 11 and drawn four. The victory came in 1986 when Kapil Dev's men won by five wickets. They went on to win the series 2-0. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
