England take control on day two
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Graeme Swann claimed two wickets in his first over as a Test bowler as England took control on day two of the first Test against India in Chennai, reports BBC.
The spinner trapped Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid as India slumped to 155-6 at stumps in reply to England's 316.
Monty Panesar and Andrew Flintoff removed VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in quick succession before Steve Harmison dismissed Yuvraj Singh.
Matt Prior's patient 53 not out was vital in helping England past 300.
England's score looked to be on the modest side, but Swann's remarkable intervention, plus a wicket apiece for England's four other bowlers, put a totally different complexion on the match, and left England favourites to win.
The day had begun with Prior and Flintoff at the crease, and England optimistically targeting 400.
But anything in excess of 300 looked in doubt as soon as Flintoff had been ousted by Amit Mishra with no addition to the team's overnight score.
He tamely squeezed a catch to short-leg off his pad leaving the night-watchman James Anderson to take England's innings on in tandem with Sussex wicket-keeper Prior.
The pair played in dogged fashion, and it was deep into the second hour before either hit a boundary, with a surprise reverse sweep from Anderson scuttling down to the third-man fence.
Prior then slog-swept Harbhajan Singh for his only boundary in a 102-ball innings.
The duo added 42 from 106 deliveries of what was, frankly, fairly tedious cricket, with skipper Mahendra Dhoni, reluctant to take the second new ball, simply rotating his three spinners.
Finally Anderson, whose innings brought to mind two 80-ball efforts from him last summer, finally tried something a little bit too bold off Mishra - and hit an easy catch to deep midwicket.
After the often innocuous Harbhajan produced a fine top-swinger which Swann could only glove to slip, Harmison gave Prior further company in a 27-run stand for the ninth wicket which straddled the lunch interval.
But he edged Yuvraj behind, and Panesar, who was given a lot of the strike by Prior, was trapped lbw by Ishant Sharma.
Finally India could concentrate on batting, but Virender Sehwag was too nonchalant at a ground where he had struck 319 against South Africa in March this year.
Attempting to guide a ball off the back foot down to third man, he edged Anderson onto his stumps and India had already been checked.
Dravid, who has endured a woeful run of form this year, and a much more assured Gambhir then took the total to 30-1 before Pietersen gave Swann the last over before tea.
His first ball was pitched short and Gambhir smashed it to the boundary, but two balls later Swann had his man, as the left-hander opted to play no stroke to a ball from around the wicket which drifted in and went straight on.
The last ball of the session was a big off-break bowled at the right-handed Dravid, which struck the batsman on the back foot in front of off-stump. For the second time in a dramatic over, Australian umpire Daryl Harper upheld the lbw appeal.
The spinner trapped Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid as India slumped to 155-6 at stumps in reply to England's 316.
Monty Panesar and Andrew Flintoff removed VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in quick succession before Steve Harmison dismissed Yuvraj Singh.
Matt Prior's patient 53 not out was vital in helping England past 300.
England's score looked to be on the modest side, but Swann's remarkable intervention, plus a wicket apiece for England's four other bowlers, put a totally different complexion on the match, and left England favourites to win.
The day had begun with Prior and Flintoff at the crease, and England optimistically targeting 400.
But anything in excess of 300 looked in doubt as soon as Flintoff had been ousted by Amit Mishra with no addition to the team's overnight score.
He tamely squeezed a catch to short-leg off his pad leaving the night-watchman James Anderson to take England's innings on in tandem with Sussex wicket-keeper Prior.
The pair played in dogged fashion, and it was deep into the second hour before either hit a boundary, with a surprise reverse sweep from Anderson scuttling down to the third-man fence.
Prior then slog-swept Harbhajan Singh for his only boundary in a 102-ball innings.
The duo added 42 from 106 deliveries of what was, frankly, fairly tedious cricket, with skipper Mahendra Dhoni, reluctant to take the second new ball, simply rotating his three spinners.
Finally Anderson, whose innings brought to mind two 80-ball efforts from him last summer, finally tried something a little bit too bold off Mishra - and hit an easy catch to deep midwicket.
After the often innocuous Harbhajan produced a fine top-swinger which Swann could only glove to slip, Harmison gave Prior further company in a 27-run stand for the ninth wicket which straddled the lunch interval.
But he edged Yuvraj behind, and Panesar, who was given a lot of the strike by Prior, was trapped lbw by Ishant Sharma.
Finally India could concentrate on batting, but Virender Sehwag was too nonchalant at a ground where he had struck 319 against South Africa in March this year.
Attempting to guide a ball off the back foot down to third man, he edged Anderson onto his stumps and India had already been checked.
Dravid, who has endured a woeful run of form this year, and a much more assured Gambhir then took the total to 30-1 before Pietersen gave Swann the last over before tea.
His first ball was pitched short and Gambhir smashed it to the boundary, but two balls later Swann had his man, as the left-hander opted to play no stroke to a ball from around the wicket which drifted in and went straight on.
The last ball of the session was a big off-break bowled at the right-handed Dravid, which struck the batsman on the back foot in front of off-stump. For the second time in a dramatic over, Australian umpire Daryl Harper upheld the lbw appeal.