India needed to beat England to have any chance of qualifying for the last four stage. They duly completed the victory thanks in the main to a blistering batting performance.
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set India on their way with an opening partnership worth 136, before Yuvraj Singh delievered the fireworks later on with an exceptionally quickfire 58 coming off only 16 balls. He punished the unfortunate Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over, replicating Herschelle Gibbs effort in the last World Cup.
England's reply was steady, and after 18 overs were on exactly the same score as India were at that point in their innings. However, England were unable to find a batsman that could be quite as destructive as Yuvraj was in that now, famous over.
The pitch was predicted by many to have enough life in it, especially under lights, to cause more than the odd problem to the batting side, and that totals of around 150, may test the chasing team.
For England this game was all about pride, having watched South Africa, before their game took place, take care of business against New Zealand. England were confirmed to be travelling home after their game with India, regardless of the result. So the inclusion of the injured Andrew Flintoff in a game with nothing to play for, left many scratching their heads.
England won the toss and elected to field, hoping to pressurise the Indians on a lively track.
The Indian openers were respectful of how well England had bowled early on, and Paul Collingwood continued in the same vein as previous games by rotating his bowlers almost every over. The plan India had was to play out the opening six overs and keep wickets in hand, so as a result there were few expansive shots in the opening stages.
Once India had gone over the six over threshold, they broke loose. Sehwag scored his first boundary pulling Dmitri Mascarenhas for four, before launching him over extra cover for six.
Sehwag, out of favour in the ODI's, then begun to make room for himself and slash aggresively through the offside. It seemed to help that the two Indian batsmen both play for Delhi, and their running between the wickets was that of a pair well in tune with each others game.
When Sehwag crunched Collingwood through covers, he brought his fifty up off 38 balls. Gambhir, minutes later went two balls better, his half century was off 36 deliveries.
Sehwag had reached 68, when he walked too far across his off stump, in an attempt to flick the ball over short fine leg, instead Chris Tremlett's delivery thumped into his leg stump.
After Gambhir successfully swept Darren Maddy for four, he tried to repeat the dose, but merely scooped the ball to Broad.
Robin Uthappa was also bowled by Tremlett, and it became a question of how well India could finish. Explosively was the answer. Yuvraj Singh, after an on field confrontation with Andrew Flintoff, teed off in the most fantastic fashion. Stuart Broad tried bowling everywhere, and Yuvraj was consistently more than equal to it. His fifty took an incredible 12 balls.
So England were set an unlikely 219 for victory, and opened up with some purpose, reaching 45-0 off the first five overs.
The main problem from there on, was England's inability to form a match winning partnership. Each of England's top five offered hope and showed glimpses of what can be achieved in this run chase, but wickets kept falling finshing any promising partnership.
Vikram Solanki, Darren Maddy, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Owais Shah all lit up the ground with brief cameos, but none of them could go take the next step and drive England home.
RP Singh sealed the victory when in the 18th over of the innings he not only limited England to just four runs, but he picked up the wickets of Collingwood and Shah.
Collingwood's side finishing 18 runs shy of India's impressive total. For India it is now all to play for against South Africa on Thursday evening, again in Durban, where a win for India leaves three sides, India, South Africa, and New Zealand, tied on four points. The two sides with the best net run rate will enter the semi-finals.
India 218-4 (20 overs) Virender Sehwag 68, Gautam Gambhir 58, Yuvraj Singh 58 Chris Tremlett 2-45, Darren Maddy 1-20
England 200-6 (20 overs) Vik Solanki 43, Kevin Pietersen 39 Irfan Pathan 3-37, RP Singh 2-28
India win by 18 runs
Cricket Web Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh
(Cricket Web, 19/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=2&NewsIDAuto=4532
Friday, 5 October 2007
Shoaib & Asif in altercation
It is very much an understatement to suggest there is never a dull moment regarding the Pakistan cricket team.
Once again before a World tournament, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The altercation took place following Thursday's practice session, and the exact details of the disagreement are yet to be revealed. Rumours of Asif being struck by a bat are so far unfounded.
Shoaib is already skating on thin ice, and is currently on a six week probation period, following his disciplinary indiscretion last month when he left a Karachi training camp without permission.
The good news for Pakistan, is that the injury is only thought to be a bruise, nothing more serious. Asif had X-rays on the problem, and the results were clear.
Once again the questions will arise as to whether Shoaib is worth his place in the side when you consider the alleged behaviour he brings with it. Undoubtedly he is one of the finest quick bowlers in the world on his day, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Pakistan management to ensure he gets onto the pitch without any trouble along the way.
A decision on the outcome of this latest drama, is expected tomorrow.
(Cricket Web, 06/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2013&NewsIDAuto=4448
Once again before a World tournament, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The altercation took place following Thursday's practice session, and the exact details of the disagreement are yet to be revealed. Rumours of Asif being struck by a bat are so far unfounded.
Shoaib is already skating on thin ice, and is currently on a six week probation period, following his disciplinary indiscretion last month when he left a Karachi training camp without permission.
The good news for Pakistan, is that the injury is only thought to be a bruise, nothing more serious. Asif had X-rays on the problem, and the results were clear.
Once again the questions will arise as to whether Shoaib is worth his place in the side when you consider the alleged behaviour he brings with it. Undoubtedly he is one of the finest quick bowlers in the world on his day, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Pakistan management to ensure he gets onto the pitch without any trouble along the way.
A decision on the outcome of this latest drama, is expected tomorrow.
(Cricket Web, 06/09/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2013&NewsIDAuto=4448
England take 3-1 lead
A record 8th wicket partnership of 99 for England in ODI's between Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad secured England a 3-1 lead with three games to play.
The feeling once India had batted first, was that they had not scored enough with their total of 212 all out off 49.4 overs. However, it looked at one point as though it was going to be more than enough when England were floundering at 114-7.
Step forward Bopara and Broad, who both demonstrated temperaments that belied their years and inexperience, and techniques that had India wondering why these two were batting so low.
Bopara had of course been here before, during the World Cup against Sri Lanka when he took England to the very brink of an unlikely victory but could not quite get his side over the line. With that in mind, his determination to see it through this time was evident, and with Broad as an unexpected yet accomplished batting ally they chipped away at the total, bringing the chasing target down in tens, and when Broad pushed one to mid on, the vigil was complete.
India won the toss and elected to have a bat, the skies were somewhat overcast and the prospect of batting uder lights simply did not appeal to India captain Rahul Dravid. The visitors opted for Ajit Agarkar, to add some batting depth, ahead of Munaf Patel.
England recalled all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in place of Chris Tremlett, while captain Paul Collingwood had recovered from his stomach complaints.
The Indian openers were once again restricted early on, with Broad and Jimmy Anderson finding their range, and not allowing India's strokemakers any freedom.
When Sourav Ganguly attempted a pull off Anderson, it simply looped to Ian Bell at square leg. Dinesh Karthik handed Broad his first wicket of the day, chasing a short and wide delivery and succeeding only in nicking it through to Prior.
The following over 'Freddie' Flintoff was called on to bowl, and it did not take long for him to re-acquaint himself with his home crowd, when he had dangerman Rahul Dravid fishing outside his off stump to give Prior another victim.
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh then held the fort for the next 17.3 overs. It was not as fluent a partnership as one may expect from two silky and attractive batsmen. Flintoff was not making life any easier for them, his first five overs included three maidens. How happy the Indians must have been when he was cleared to play.
Despite not being at his best Tendulkar brought his fifty up off 81 balls, but he had no sooner reached the landmark, before Kevin Pietersen was brought on and duly dismissed the little master. It was in all honesty, nothing short of a long hop that Tendulkar mis-timed, and was snaffled by the bucket-like hands of Flintoff at deep square leg.
Yuvraj continued to try and build a respectable score for India but he was short of willing company at the crease. MS Dhoni fell to a typical Panesar delivery, spinning and clipping off stump, before Agarkar edged through to Prior off Broad.
Yuvraj's fifty came up in some style. Broad banged the ball in short and Yuvraj rocked back and pulled it over the boundary for a maximum. Broad had his revenge when he yorked Yuvraj on leg stump for 71 in the 45th over.
Both Zaheer (20) and Piyush Chawla (13*) made useful contributions down the order, but with only 212 on the board, India needed them to do it with the ball. Stuart Broad achieved his best ODI figures to date, registering 4-51 off his 10 overs. Anderson again impressive, and Flintoff typically measly.
India received the perfect tonic at the start of England's run chase. Alistair Cook was removed by Zaheer without scoring, and Prior cut the ball in the air to third man, where Ramesh Powar completed the catch off Agarkar. When Ian Bell left one off Agarkar that smashed into his off stump, India were understandably buoyant, the home side were 35-3. The Indians were visibly pumped up for this one, and the chat was continuous.
Pietersen looked to be settling in before mis-timing a hook shot, and Agarkar had three wickets.
Collingwood was steadying the ship, and looking good doing it. His timing was near perfect, as he punched a number of drives at the top of the bounce.
Sadly Flintoff's return with the bat was nowhere near as impressive as with the ball, and he drove aerially to Yuvraj at point. Owais Shah gloved to Karthik at short leg, before Bopara dabbed one to point and Collingwood called for a single, after a hint of indecision, Collingwood was caught short of his ground.
That brought Broad together with Bopara for the match winning partnership. The composure shown by the two youngsters, both in only their 13th game, was a joy for England fans and management alike, to see.
Broad began his cricketing life as a batsman and it is easy to see why. His punches off his back foot are rarely seen from a number 9. Bopara was efficient, solid in defence and excellent in putting the loose ball away.
So it turned out to be a heart breaking defeat from India who now face the uphill task of needing to win the remianing 3 ODI's to win the series.
India 212 Yuvraj Singh 71, Sachin Tendulkar 55 Stuart Broad 4-51, James Anderson 3-38
England 213-7 Paul Collingwood 47, Stuart Broad 45*, Ravi Bopara 43* Ajit Agarkar 4-60
England won by 3 wickets
(Cricket Web, 30/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4419
The feeling once India had batted first, was that they had not scored enough with their total of 212 all out off 49.4 overs. However, it looked at one point as though it was going to be more than enough when England were floundering at 114-7.
Step forward Bopara and Broad, who both demonstrated temperaments that belied their years and inexperience, and techniques that had India wondering why these two were batting so low.
Bopara had of course been here before, during the World Cup against Sri Lanka when he took England to the very brink of an unlikely victory but could not quite get his side over the line. With that in mind, his determination to see it through this time was evident, and with Broad as an unexpected yet accomplished batting ally they chipped away at the total, bringing the chasing target down in tens, and when Broad pushed one to mid on, the vigil was complete.
India won the toss and elected to have a bat, the skies were somewhat overcast and the prospect of batting uder lights simply did not appeal to India captain Rahul Dravid. The visitors opted for Ajit Agarkar, to add some batting depth, ahead of Munaf Patel.
England recalled all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in place of Chris Tremlett, while captain Paul Collingwood had recovered from his stomach complaints.
The Indian openers were once again restricted early on, with Broad and Jimmy Anderson finding their range, and not allowing India's strokemakers any freedom.
When Sourav Ganguly attempted a pull off Anderson, it simply looped to Ian Bell at square leg. Dinesh Karthik handed Broad his first wicket of the day, chasing a short and wide delivery and succeeding only in nicking it through to Prior.
The following over 'Freddie' Flintoff was called on to bowl, and it did not take long for him to re-acquaint himself with his home crowd, when he had dangerman Rahul Dravid fishing outside his off stump to give Prior another victim.
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh then held the fort for the next 17.3 overs. It was not as fluent a partnership as one may expect from two silky and attractive batsmen. Flintoff was not making life any easier for them, his first five overs included three maidens. How happy the Indians must have been when he was cleared to play.
Despite not being at his best Tendulkar brought his fifty up off 81 balls, but he had no sooner reached the landmark, before Kevin Pietersen was brought on and duly dismissed the little master. It was in all honesty, nothing short of a long hop that Tendulkar mis-timed, and was snaffled by the bucket-like hands of Flintoff at deep square leg.
Yuvraj continued to try and build a respectable score for India but he was short of willing company at the crease. MS Dhoni fell to a typical Panesar delivery, spinning and clipping off stump, before Agarkar edged through to Prior off Broad.
Yuvraj's fifty came up in some style. Broad banged the ball in short and Yuvraj rocked back and pulled it over the boundary for a maximum. Broad had his revenge when he yorked Yuvraj on leg stump for 71 in the 45th over.
Both Zaheer (20) and Piyush Chawla (13*) made useful contributions down the order, but with only 212 on the board, India needed them to do it with the ball. Stuart Broad achieved his best ODI figures to date, registering 4-51 off his 10 overs. Anderson again impressive, and Flintoff typically measly.
India received the perfect tonic at the start of England's run chase. Alistair Cook was removed by Zaheer without scoring, and Prior cut the ball in the air to third man, where Ramesh Powar completed the catch off Agarkar. When Ian Bell left one off Agarkar that smashed into his off stump, India were understandably buoyant, the home side were 35-3. The Indians were visibly pumped up for this one, and the chat was continuous.
Pietersen looked to be settling in before mis-timing a hook shot, and Agarkar had three wickets.
Collingwood was steadying the ship, and looking good doing it. His timing was near perfect, as he punched a number of drives at the top of the bounce.
Sadly Flintoff's return with the bat was nowhere near as impressive as with the ball, and he drove aerially to Yuvraj at point. Owais Shah gloved to Karthik at short leg, before Bopara dabbed one to point and Collingwood called for a single, after a hint of indecision, Collingwood was caught short of his ground.
That brought Broad together with Bopara for the match winning partnership. The composure shown by the two youngsters, both in only their 13th game, was a joy for England fans and management alike, to see.
Broad began his cricketing life as a batsman and it is easy to see why. His punches off his back foot are rarely seen from a number 9. Bopara was efficient, solid in defence and excellent in putting the loose ball away.
So it turned out to be a heart breaking defeat from India who now face the uphill task of needing to win the remianing 3 ODI's to win the series.
India 212 Yuvraj Singh 71, Sachin Tendulkar 55 Stuart Broad 4-51, James Anderson 3-38
England 213-7 Paul Collingwood 47, Stuart Broad 45*, Ravi Bopara 43* Ajit Agarkar 4-60
England won by 3 wickets
(Cricket Web, 30/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4419
India remain firmly in charge
As the Third Test moves into the fifth and final day of the series, India still remain firmly on top, following a day where they refused to enforce the follow on, but set England an unimaginable 500 run chase to level the series.
Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett begun the day hoping to narrow the already extensive deficit, and managed to hang around for some 7 overs, before Kumble caught Panesar in front of his stumps, despite a rather large stride down the track.
The gap was 319 runs, and Rahul Dravid decided to put the game beyong doubt and bat for a second time, eliminating any danger of England exerting some pressure on the Indians.
The hosts then demonstrated the kind of opening assault that had been missing in the first innings. Due to Ryan Sidebottom's side strain, Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson took the new ball, and to good effect. While Anderson swung the ball at good pace, Tremlett extracted good bounce, and a potentially potent opening combination was unearthed.
Anderson removed Jaffer with a ball that looked odds on to go over the top of the stumps, as he shouldered arms to a ball that thudded into his pads. Umpire Ian Howell took his time, before raising his finger to send the unfortunate Jaffer back to the changing rooms.
Dinesh Karthik was to follow soon after to Tremlett, who induced an outside edge from the opener, with Collingwood taking a smart catch in second slip.
Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the crease, in what is expected to be his last Test outing in England, to appreciative applause, and 11 balls later was making his way back.
Anderson, again, forcing the error, when Tendulkar inside edged onto his stumps leaving only one stump remaing. Anderson had 2 for 0 off his first four overs, and while it is inappropriate to suggest India were on the ropes, they were not enjoying the best of times at 11-3.
Sorav Ganguly joined his skipper in the middle, and a 65 run partnership ensued, with Ganguly the man who accumulated the majority with his typical excellent timing and placement.
The handy swing bowling of Collingwood accounted for Ganguly when he had reached 57, meanwhile Dravid was doing no more than holding his end up. When Ganguly was dismissed Dravid was on 5 off 77 balls.
Collingwood's underrated swing made for Dravid also, when he felt at a ball outside off, and snicked the ball to the solitary slip in Strauss, who took a comfortable catch.
Dhoni and Laxman both had hands in ensuring the lead was up to 500 before the declaration arrived, leaving England the unenviable task of chasing the total down in a maximum 110 overs.
The openers, Strauss and Cook, saw out the remainder of the day, which involved a testing 20 overs, in mediocre light. Cook had registered 27, and Strauss 23 respectively.
So as we enter the final day, England still require a highly unlikely 444 runs, and India 10 wickets. With this drying and wearing pitch, Anil Kumble is the one that may cause most problems for England in their quest to break numerous records and level the series.
India 664 Anil Kumble 110*, MS Dhoni 92, Dinesh Karthik 91, Sachin Tendulkar 82 James Anderson 4/182, Monty Panesar 2/159
England 345 Ian Bell 63, Paul Collingwood 62, Alistair Cook 61 Zaheer Khan 3-32, Anil Kumble 3-94, Sreesanth 2-80
India 180-6 dec Sourav Ganguly 57, VVS Laxman 46*, MS Dhoni 36 Paul Collingwood 2-24, James Anderson 2-34, Chris Tremlett 2-58
England 56-0 Alastair Cook 27*, Andrew Strauss 23*
England require another 444 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 12/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4341
Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett begun the day hoping to narrow the already extensive deficit, and managed to hang around for some 7 overs, before Kumble caught Panesar in front of his stumps, despite a rather large stride down the track.
The gap was 319 runs, and Rahul Dravid decided to put the game beyong doubt and bat for a second time, eliminating any danger of England exerting some pressure on the Indians.
The hosts then demonstrated the kind of opening assault that had been missing in the first innings. Due to Ryan Sidebottom's side strain, Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson took the new ball, and to good effect. While Anderson swung the ball at good pace, Tremlett extracted good bounce, and a potentially potent opening combination was unearthed.
Anderson removed Jaffer with a ball that looked odds on to go over the top of the stumps, as he shouldered arms to a ball that thudded into his pads. Umpire Ian Howell took his time, before raising his finger to send the unfortunate Jaffer back to the changing rooms.
Dinesh Karthik was to follow soon after to Tremlett, who induced an outside edge from the opener, with Collingwood taking a smart catch in second slip.
Sachin Tendulkar made his way to the crease, in what is expected to be his last Test outing in England, to appreciative applause, and 11 balls later was making his way back.
Anderson, again, forcing the error, when Tendulkar inside edged onto his stumps leaving only one stump remaing. Anderson had 2 for 0 off his first four overs, and while it is inappropriate to suggest India were on the ropes, they were not enjoying the best of times at 11-3.
Sorav Ganguly joined his skipper in the middle, and a 65 run partnership ensued, with Ganguly the man who accumulated the majority with his typical excellent timing and placement.
The handy swing bowling of Collingwood accounted for Ganguly when he had reached 57, meanwhile Dravid was doing no more than holding his end up. When Ganguly was dismissed Dravid was on 5 off 77 balls.
Collingwood's underrated swing made for Dravid also, when he felt at a ball outside off, and snicked the ball to the solitary slip in Strauss, who took a comfortable catch.
Dhoni and Laxman both had hands in ensuring the lead was up to 500 before the declaration arrived, leaving England the unenviable task of chasing the total down in a maximum 110 overs.
The openers, Strauss and Cook, saw out the remainder of the day, which involved a testing 20 overs, in mediocre light. Cook had registered 27, and Strauss 23 respectively.
So as we enter the final day, England still require a highly unlikely 444 runs, and India 10 wickets. With this drying and wearing pitch, Anil Kumble is the one that may cause most problems for England in their quest to break numerous records and level the series.
India 664 Anil Kumble 110*, MS Dhoni 92, Dinesh Karthik 91, Sachin Tendulkar 82 James Anderson 4/182, Monty Panesar 2/159
England 345 Ian Bell 63, Paul Collingwood 62, Alistair Cook 61 Zaheer Khan 3-32, Anil Kumble 3-94, Sreesanth 2-80
India 180-6 dec Sourav Ganguly 57, VVS Laxman 46*, MS Dhoni 36 Paul Collingwood 2-24, James Anderson 2-34, Chris Tremlett 2-58
England 56-0 Alastair Cook 27*, Andrew Strauss 23*
England require another 444 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 12/08/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4341
England have it all to do
India had extended their overall lead to a commanding 283, before England had to bat out a testing 16 overs, of which Strauss and Cook handled successfully, finishing on 43-0.
Sachin Tendulkar top scored for the Indians with 91, while Sourav Ganguly, perhaps looking the most fluent batsman on show, made an attractive 79, before they were both rather harshly adjudged to be out by the usually excellent Simon Taufel.
Five batsmen out of India's top six passed fifty giving the scorecard a solid look, yet none of them passed a century. Karthik, Jaffer, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman all made half centuries and contributed in India's total of 481 all out.
Ryan Sidebottom was the pick of the bowlers in the morning session, constantly passing the bat of Tendulkar, and conceding a miserly seven runs in his opening nine overs. The left armer bowled beautifully and failed to get the rewards his bowling deserved.
The new ball was shared with Chris Tremlett, as Michael Vaughan thought his added bounce may be more of a potent weapon than Jimmy Anderson's swing. Ganguly, however, brought his brief spell to an end when he hooked the paceman for the only six of the day, having previously cut him uppishly through the gully region.
It was a dangerous partnership developing for England, as these two saw India into lunch with the score at 338-3.
After the break, it was to be Paul Collingwood to have a bowl, and the decision was to be justified when Tendulkar failed to play at a shot with the ball striking his front leg. The disbelief on Tendulkar's face suggested he thought the umpire had made an error of judgement. So it proved on hawkeye, showing the ball would have gone on to miss the off stump comfortably.
So a fortunate breakthrough, and it was not to prove the only one. With another promising Indian partnership building between Ganguly and the watchful, yet effective Laxman, Taufel gave another decision in favour of England. Jimmy Anderson threw one down the leg side, and Ganguly attempted a flick off his legs. An appeal went up for caught behind, but replays indicated no contact had been made, but Taufel thought otherwise.
Finally Sidebottom got some much deserved reward, inducing an edge from Mahendra Dhoni that gave Prior an easy catch. Anil Kumble was next, and he offered decent support to Laxman, whose easy on the eye strokeplay was frustrating the home side.
It was Tremlett that removed both of them. Firstly Laxman, who fell attempting a cut shot to a ball banged in reasonably short and wide, but the added bounce that Tremlett possesses undid Laxman and he edged through to Prior.
The ball that got Kumble was a good one, hitting exactly the right line and length that with respect to Kumble, would have troubled more recognised batsmen. That was eight wickets down, and five catches to Prior.
The last two wickets fell to Panesar, who plugged away all day. Both RP Singh and Sreesanth were trapped lbw. Singh's seemed a fair shout, Sreesanth may have been a tad unlucky, although one does invite trouble when opting to leave the ball that would have gone perilously close to off stump.
So an imposing lead, and a tricky spell of batting for England's openers. There were no real scares as Cook and Strauss negotiated the 16 overs expertly. Strauss was unbeaten on 21, Cook on 17. Sreesanth struggled with his run up, and did not look to be in any kind of rhythm, something India will be hoping to put right come tomorrow.
And so to tomorrow, another dry day forecasted, in front of another sell out crowd, and a day's play that could be integral to the whole of this series. Despite India not taking a wicket at the end of the day, they are still in command, and England will have to bat for the best part of two days if they are to save this Test.
England 198 Alastair Cook 43, Ian Bell 31 Zaheer Khan 4-59, Anil Kumble 3-32
India 481 Sachin Tendulkar 91, Sourav Ganguly 79, Dinesh Karthik 77 Monty Panasar 4-101, Chris Tremlett 3-80
England 43-0 Andrew Strauss 21*, Alastair Cook 17*
England trail by 240 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 29/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4286
Sachin Tendulkar top scored for the Indians with 91, while Sourav Ganguly, perhaps looking the most fluent batsman on show, made an attractive 79, before they were both rather harshly adjudged to be out by the usually excellent Simon Taufel.
Five batsmen out of India's top six passed fifty giving the scorecard a solid look, yet none of them passed a century. Karthik, Jaffer, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman all made half centuries and contributed in India's total of 481 all out.
Ryan Sidebottom was the pick of the bowlers in the morning session, constantly passing the bat of Tendulkar, and conceding a miserly seven runs in his opening nine overs. The left armer bowled beautifully and failed to get the rewards his bowling deserved.
The new ball was shared with Chris Tremlett, as Michael Vaughan thought his added bounce may be more of a potent weapon than Jimmy Anderson's swing. Ganguly, however, brought his brief spell to an end when he hooked the paceman for the only six of the day, having previously cut him uppishly through the gully region.
It was a dangerous partnership developing for England, as these two saw India into lunch with the score at 338-3.
After the break, it was to be Paul Collingwood to have a bowl, and the decision was to be justified when Tendulkar failed to play at a shot with the ball striking his front leg. The disbelief on Tendulkar's face suggested he thought the umpire had made an error of judgement. So it proved on hawkeye, showing the ball would have gone on to miss the off stump comfortably.
So a fortunate breakthrough, and it was not to prove the only one. With another promising Indian partnership building between Ganguly and the watchful, yet effective Laxman, Taufel gave another decision in favour of England. Jimmy Anderson threw one down the leg side, and Ganguly attempted a flick off his legs. An appeal went up for caught behind, but replays indicated no contact had been made, but Taufel thought otherwise.
Finally Sidebottom got some much deserved reward, inducing an edge from Mahendra Dhoni that gave Prior an easy catch. Anil Kumble was next, and he offered decent support to Laxman, whose easy on the eye strokeplay was frustrating the home side.
It was Tremlett that removed both of them. Firstly Laxman, who fell attempting a cut shot to a ball banged in reasonably short and wide, but the added bounce that Tremlett possesses undid Laxman and he edged through to Prior.
The ball that got Kumble was a good one, hitting exactly the right line and length that with respect to Kumble, would have troubled more recognised batsmen. That was eight wickets down, and five catches to Prior.
The last two wickets fell to Panesar, who plugged away all day. Both RP Singh and Sreesanth were trapped lbw. Singh's seemed a fair shout, Sreesanth may have been a tad unlucky, although one does invite trouble when opting to leave the ball that would have gone perilously close to off stump.
So an imposing lead, and a tricky spell of batting for England's openers. There were no real scares as Cook and Strauss negotiated the 16 overs expertly. Strauss was unbeaten on 21, Cook on 17. Sreesanth struggled with his run up, and did not look to be in any kind of rhythm, something India will be hoping to put right come tomorrow.
And so to tomorrow, another dry day forecasted, in front of another sell out crowd, and a day's play that could be integral to the whole of this series. Despite India not taking a wicket at the end of the day, they are still in command, and England will have to bat for the best part of two days if they are to save this Test.
England 198 Alastair Cook 43, Ian Bell 31 Zaheer Khan 4-59, Anil Kumble 3-32
India 481 Sachin Tendulkar 91, Sourav Ganguly 79, Dinesh Karthik 77 Monty Panasar 4-101, Chris Tremlett 3-80
England 43-0 Andrew Strauss 21*, Alastair Cook 17*
England trail by 240 runs with 10 wickets remaining
(Cricket Web, 29/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4286
Durham swoop for Shiv
Shivnarine Chanderpaul's torment of English bowlers is not yet finished, after he agreed to join Durham, and will be available until the Twenty20 World Championships get underway in South Africa on September 11.
Chanderpaul recently averaged a phenomonal 148.66 in the Wisden Trophy four-Test series against England, emphasising his liking to the English tracks.
Durham will be hoping his excellent form continues as they look to close the gap on the three sides above them in the County Championship, aswell as seek promotion from Division 2 of the Pro40 league. He will also have the chance to influence a Lords Final, when Durham take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy on August 18.
The Guyanese left-hander will replace Kiwi Scott Styris, who ended his spell at the Riverside a week before his contract was due to expire, because of a series of niggling injuries.
In addition to the obvious quality and quantity of runs it is hoped he will bring to Durham, Chanderpaul will demonstrate what it takes to become such a world class operator, and give a lesson to the younger players at Durham in professionalism. It will be his first stint of first-class cricket for a club outside of the Caribbean, and he could make his debut as early as Sunday, when they play Surrey in the Pro40.
(Cricket Web, 27/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2016&NewsIDAuto=4280
Chanderpaul recently averaged a phenomonal 148.66 in the Wisden Trophy four-Test series against England, emphasising his liking to the English tracks.
Durham will be hoping his excellent form continues as they look to close the gap on the three sides above them in the County Championship, aswell as seek promotion from Division 2 of the Pro40 league. He will also have the chance to influence a Lords Final, when Durham take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy on August 18.
The Guyanese left-hander will replace Kiwi Scott Styris, who ended his spell at the Riverside a week before his contract was due to expire, because of a series of niggling injuries.
In addition to the obvious quality and quantity of runs it is hoped he will bring to Durham, Chanderpaul will demonstrate what it takes to become such a world class operator, and give a lesson to the younger players at Durham in professionalism. It will be his first stint of first-class cricket for a club outside of the Caribbean, and he could make his debut as early as Sunday, when they play Surrey in the Pro40.
(Cricket Web, 27/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2016&NewsIDAuto=4280
Pietersen puts England in charge
England had Kevin Pietersen to thank in setting India an imposing total of 380, if they are to gain victory in this First Test match.
India struck back in the first session, RP singh picking up the wickets of Vaughan, Collingwood, and Bell, before Pietersen and Prior combined for a crucial 119 run partnership, as England were bowled out for 282.
Pietersen struck 14 fours and one six in his innings, as he batted England into a winning position.
India began their reply confidently, but lost the key wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar, who both went before the close to leave India with an uphill task on the final day. Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly batted well and currently involved in a 53 run partnership. India closed the day on 137-3, 243 runs short of their target.
The day started with Vaughan and Pietersen looking to push England's lead on, with Vaughan looking the more solid of the two. Apart from one or two lbw shouts and the odd one that beat the bat, England moved reasonably comfortably to 100-2, when RP Singh got one to nip back on Vaughan, who was on the drive, and deflect off his inside edge and onto the off stump, which duly cartwheeled out of the ground. Singh had moved to bowling round the wicket, to offer a different angle, and the plan worked perfectly.
If the wicket was expected to keep Pietersen in his shell, it did not look it, as his next two balls off Zaheer Khan disappeared to the boundary, as the lead moved to 207.
RP Singh claimed another wicket in his next over, this time catching Paul Collingwood by surprise with an excellently directed bouncer that Collingwood could only glove to second slip, where VVS Laxman took a comfortable catch. Singh bowled well throughout the day, finding good lines with well controlled swing bowling.
Ian Bell only had time for a glance off his legs and a well executed pull, before he fell to RP Singh, attempting another pull shot, the ball failed to bounce as much as Bell expected and he inside edged onto his stumps for the second time in the Test.
Pietersen and new bat Matt Prior saw England through to lunch with some sensible batting, and a lead of 258 intact. What happened after lunch was a flurry of runs. Kevin Pietersen seemed intent on playing a shot a ball and with great dividends. He looked in fine nick, exceptionally strong down the ground, and was perhaps a little surprised by the lack of bouncers directed at him, following one or two dismissals in this fashion against the West Indies.
Instead Pietersen was free to plant his front foot down the pitch, with his notoriously large stride, and drive through the offside at will. Matt Prior was offering good support and also played his shots with attacking intent when the chance offered itself.
Prior stuck to executing textbook drives, while Pietersen demonstrated his flamboyant side, his trademark flamingo flick through straight mid wicket certainly kept the Lords crowd entertained.
The 100 partnership came off only 128 balls, as Pietersen edged closer to another century. On 93 he came dancing down the track to Anil Kumble, and hit him straight back over his head for six. His wait for the century was a mere two balls, flicking Kumble nonchalantly through mid wicket off his back foot to bring up his ninth Test century. His celebrations were that of a player pumped up, as he lapped up the applause from the crowd.
Prior had reached 42 before he edged a ball that Zaheer got to go across him, and Dhoni took a smart diving catch to his right. It was a breakthrough India needed to open up an end to England's tail. Chris Tremlett bagged a pair, the ball squeezing between bat and pad and rolling onto his stumps first ball, to leave Zaheer on a hat-trick.
Ryan Sidebottom was the next man in, and Zaheer delivered an excellent full inswinging delivery that Sidebottom dug out efficiently.
Pietersen had been criticised in the past for how he had batted with the tail, but he kept it simple and effective here. When the field was brought up on the fifth and six balls of the over, he would look to hit a boundary, failing that he would happily take a single.
When he failed to get a single off the last ball of Zaheer's over, Sidebottom was exposed to the experienced Kumble with only one result likely. Kumble pushed the ball across Sidebottom as he attempted to force it off the back foot and edged to Dravid at slip. Kumble was using more googlies than usual to slant the ball across England's left handed tail enders.
Pietersen finally fell for 134 off 213 balls going for a big shot off the impressive RP Singh. The field was up to stop him gaining a single to keep the strike as he endeavoured to hit the ball over deep mid wicket. He succeeded only in bottom edging the ball onto his middle stump. An end to what had been a compelling and potentially decisive innings.
RP Singh then deservedly got his name onto the Lords honours board when he produced an inswinger to Monty Panesar who was struck on his pad in front of his wickets.
How were India to set about their chase ? Well, Dinesh Karthik began in a positive frame of mind, while Wasim Jaffer was content to bide his time and get himself set. Karthik's first 20 runs came by the way of five fours.
Jaffer will have been exceptionally disappointed by the tame nature of his dismissal. He was not in any great trouble, the England openers were not getting the ball to swing as much as they had in the first innings. Jimmy Anderson had returned for his second spell, this time changing to the Nursery End, and drifted one onto Jaffer's pads, who flicked the ball in the air to Pietersen at mid wicket to take an easy catch low down.
India captain Rahul Dravid made his way out to the middle, England obviously recognising the urgency to get him early, with his adept powers of concentration.
He cut his first ball savagely to the point boundary for four, then guided his third ball down to the vacant third man area. Dravid had a start.
Chris Tremlett had been brought into the attack, as the swing bowlers were not finding the conditions entirely conducive to their styles. Tremlett was to present a different proposition by banging the ball in back of a length, forcing the batsman back, and acquiring appreciable bounce.
The bounce must have caused umpire Simon Taufel one or two concerns when Dravid was wrapped on the pads by Tremlett and the England players appealed excitedly. After one or two seconds of consideration he raised his finger to give England a major boost. Dravid could perhaps consider himself a tad unfortunate, as replays showed he was struck marginally outside the line of off stump.
Panesar was getting the odd ball to turn sharply, but Tendulkar resembled a man full of self confidence. A well timed push off the back foot to Panesar raced away to the cover boundary which matched any of Pietersen's blows for timing.
Monty was to gain his revenge. Tendulkar was his first dismissal in Test cricket in Nagpur, and he got him again here with a dismissal of unerring similarity. He delivered from round the wicket, the ball going straight on with the arm and hitting Tendulkar on his front pad before he had got his bat down near the ball. This time it was umpire Bucknor who made the decision to send Panesar and his team mates into ecstasy. His absolute joy at dismissing his hero was evident for all to see, with a dance more eccentric than usual.
It was the two big wickets before the close of play that England will have hoped for, but there is still plenty of important wickets for them to take before they can win this Test.
Dinesh Karthik continued in his own way at the other end and reached an accomplished half century off 101 balls. He will be only too aware that if India are to get anywhere the target, he must now go on and complete a big score.
Sourav Ganguly offered Ian Bell a very tough chance at silly mid off from Panesar, but on the whole will have been happy with how he has batted so far, and finished 36 not out. With VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come, the Indians will still harbour hopes of a successful and historical chase.
The weather, as ever, may be the overriding factor in this Test. With more rain scheduled tomorrow, the cricketing world will be hoping not too much, as this promises to be a thrilling game. England need 7 wickets, India need a further 247 runs, who is going to step up and win the game for his side.
England 298 Andrew Strauss 96, Michael Vaughan 79 Sreesanth 3-67, RP Singh 2-58
India 201 Wasim Jaffer 58, Sachin Tendulkar 37, Sourav Ganguly 34 James Anderson 5-43, Ryan Sidebottom 4-65
England 282 Kevin Pietersen 134, Matt Prior 42, Michael Vaughan 30 RP Singh 5-59, Zaheer Khan 4-79
India 137-3 Dinesh Karthik 56*, Sourav Ganguly 36*
(Cricket Web, 22/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4251
India struck back in the first session, RP singh picking up the wickets of Vaughan, Collingwood, and Bell, before Pietersen and Prior combined for a crucial 119 run partnership, as England were bowled out for 282.
Pietersen struck 14 fours and one six in his innings, as he batted England into a winning position.
India began their reply confidently, but lost the key wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar, who both went before the close to leave India with an uphill task on the final day. Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly batted well and currently involved in a 53 run partnership. India closed the day on 137-3, 243 runs short of their target.
The day started with Vaughan and Pietersen looking to push England's lead on, with Vaughan looking the more solid of the two. Apart from one or two lbw shouts and the odd one that beat the bat, England moved reasonably comfortably to 100-2, when RP Singh got one to nip back on Vaughan, who was on the drive, and deflect off his inside edge and onto the off stump, which duly cartwheeled out of the ground. Singh had moved to bowling round the wicket, to offer a different angle, and the plan worked perfectly.
If the wicket was expected to keep Pietersen in his shell, it did not look it, as his next two balls off Zaheer Khan disappeared to the boundary, as the lead moved to 207.
RP Singh claimed another wicket in his next over, this time catching Paul Collingwood by surprise with an excellently directed bouncer that Collingwood could only glove to second slip, where VVS Laxman took a comfortable catch. Singh bowled well throughout the day, finding good lines with well controlled swing bowling.
Ian Bell only had time for a glance off his legs and a well executed pull, before he fell to RP Singh, attempting another pull shot, the ball failed to bounce as much as Bell expected and he inside edged onto his stumps for the second time in the Test.
Pietersen and new bat Matt Prior saw England through to lunch with some sensible batting, and a lead of 258 intact. What happened after lunch was a flurry of runs. Kevin Pietersen seemed intent on playing a shot a ball and with great dividends. He looked in fine nick, exceptionally strong down the ground, and was perhaps a little surprised by the lack of bouncers directed at him, following one or two dismissals in this fashion against the West Indies.
Instead Pietersen was free to plant his front foot down the pitch, with his notoriously large stride, and drive through the offside at will. Matt Prior was offering good support and also played his shots with attacking intent when the chance offered itself.
Prior stuck to executing textbook drives, while Pietersen demonstrated his flamboyant side, his trademark flamingo flick through straight mid wicket certainly kept the Lords crowd entertained.
The 100 partnership came off only 128 balls, as Pietersen edged closer to another century. On 93 he came dancing down the track to Anil Kumble, and hit him straight back over his head for six. His wait for the century was a mere two balls, flicking Kumble nonchalantly through mid wicket off his back foot to bring up his ninth Test century. His celebrations were that of a player pumped up, as he lapped up the applause from the crowd.
Prior had reached 42 before he edged a ball that Zaheer got to go across him, and Dhoni took a smart diving catch to his right. It was a breakthrough India needed to open up an end to England's tail. Chris Tremlett bagged a pair, the ball squeezing between bat and pad and rolling onto his stumps first ball, to leave Zaheer on a hat-trick.
Ryan Sidebottom was the next man in, and Zaheer delivered an excellent full inswinging delivery that Sidebottom dug out efficiently.
Pietersen had been criticised in the past for how he had batted with the tail, but he kept it simple and effective here. When the field was brought up on the fifth and six balls of the over, he would look to hit a boundary, failing that he would happily take a single.
When he failed to get a single off the last ball of Zaheer's over, Sidebottom was exposed to the experienced Kumble with only one result likely. Kumble pushed the ball across Sidebottom as he attempted to force it off the back foot and edged to Dravid at slip. Kumble was using more googlies than usual to slant the ball across England's left handed tail enders.
Pietersen finally fell for 134 off 213 balls going for a big shot off the impressive RP Singh. The field was up to stop him gaining a single to keep the strike as he endeavoured to hit the ball over deep mid wicket. He succeeded only in bottom edging the ball onto his middle stump. An end to what had been a compelling and potentially decisive innings.
RP Singh then deservedly got his name onto the Lords honours board when he produced an inswinger to Monty Panesar who was struck on his pad in front of his wickets.
How were India to set about their chase ? Well, Dinesh Karthik began in a positive frame of mind, while Wasim Jaffer was content to bide his time and get himself set. Karthik's first 20 runs came by the way of five fours.
Jaffer will have been exceptionally disappointed by the tame nature of his dismissal. He was not in any great trouble, the England openers were not getting the ball to swing as much as they had in the first innings. Jimmy Anderson had returned for his second spell, this time changing to the Nursery End, and drifted one onto Jaffer's pads, who flicked the ball in the air to Pietersen at mid wicket to take an easy catch low down.
India captain Rahul Dravid made his way out to the middle, England obviously recognising the urgency to get him early, with his adept powers of concentration.
He cut his first ball savagely to the point boundary for four, then guided his third ball down to the vacant third man area. Dravid had a start.
Chris Tremlett had been brought into the attack, as the swing bowlers were not finding the conditions entirely conducive to their styles. Tremlett was to present a different proposition by banging the ball in back of a length, forcing the batsman back, and acquiring appreciable bounce.
The bounce must have caused umpire Simon Taufel one or two concerns when Dravid was wrapped on the pads by Tremlett and the England players appealed excitedly. After one or two seconds of consideration he raised his finger to give England a major boost. Dravid could perhaps consider himself a tad unfortunate, as replays showed he was struck marginally outside the line of off stump.
Panesar was getting the odd ball to turn sharply, but Tendulkar resembled a man full of self confidence. A well timed push off the back foot to Panesar raced away to the cover boundary which matched any of Pietersen's blows for timing.
Monty was to gain his revenge. Tendulkar was his first dismissal in Test cricket in Nagpur, and he got him again here with a dismissal of unerring similarity. He delivered from round the wicket, the ball going straight on with the arm and hitting Tendulkar on his front pad before he had got his bat down near the ball. This time it was umpire Bucknor who made the decision to send Panesar and his team mates into ecstasy. His absolute joy at dismissing his hero was evident for all to see, with a dance more eccentric than usual.
It was the two big wickets before the close of play that England will have hoped for, but there is still plenty of important wickets for them to take before they can win this Test.
Dinesh Karthik continued in his own way at the other end and reached an accomplished half century off 101 balls. He will be only too aware that if India are to get anywhere the target, he must now go on and complete a big score.
Sourav Ganguly offered Ian Bell a very tough chance at silly mid off from Panesar, but on the whole will have been happy with how he has batted so far, and finished 36 not out. With VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come, the Indians will still harbour hopes of a successful and historical chase.
The weather, as ever, may be the overriding factor in this Test. With more rain scheduled tomorrow, the cricketing world will be hoping not too much, as this promises to be a thrilling game. England need 7 wickets, India need a further 247 runs, who is going to step up and win the game for his side.
England 298 Andrew Strauss 96, Michael Vaughan 79 Sreesanth 3-67, RP Singh 2-58
India 201 Wasim Jaffer 58, Sachin Tendulkar 37, Sourav Ganguly 34 James Anderson 5-43, Ryan Sidebottom 4-65
England 282 Kevin Pietersen 134, Matt Prior 42, Michael Vaughan 30 RP Singh 5-59, Zaheer Khan 4-79
India 137-3 Dinesh Karthik 56*, Sourav Ganguly 36*
(Cricket Web, 22/07/2007)
http://www.cricketweb.net/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=%2012&NewsIDAuto=4251
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