LONDON: "If this was a boxing bout, the umpire would have stopped it by now in favour of England," a veteran at Lord's said on Sunday afternoon as one of those rain breaks stopped the action. Well, cricket doesn't allow that, but India, in a couple more hours, ensured that the knock-out happened and a four-day Test match (forced by inclement weather) got over with a day to go.
As it happened: India vs England, 2nd Test |
Scorecard
Sourav Ganguly was shaking his head in disbelief as wickets fell one after the other. "This is poor, I can't think of a batting performance like this," the former captain said as India folded up for 130 to lose by an innings and 159 runs. England are 2-0 up in the series and further humiliation could be round the corner.
The Indian camp had insisted over the last two days that the first innings debacle was a lot to do because of the conditions. On Sunday, after
Chris Woakes (137 no) toyed with the Indian bowlers to stretch the lead to 289, the Indian batsmen showed that they lacked the basic technique to survive on a pitch which wasn't the minefield that it was on Friday.
James Anderson (4-24), who became the first bowler to get 100 Test wickets at Lord's, did what he has been doing for over a decade and a half here. He bowled at a good pace, hit the right length and kept attacking the off-stump. While most of the deliveries left the batsman, the crafty maestro got the occasional one to cut in off the pitch and that delivery had M Vijay's (0) number. A pair at Lord's is quite a blot on your CV, but he could at least say that two of Anderson's best deliveries in this Test were reserved for him.
While KL Rahul (10) was once again exposed by the moving ball, falling to another off-cutter, there was a lot of interest around how Cheteshwar Pujara (17 off 87 balls) deals with the moving ball. For a while, Pujara batted well. He seemed to be smelling the leather, playing close to his body and leaving everything around the off-stump. But if you are playing the waiting game, it's imperative that you don't give it away.
Pujara, while playing for Yorkshire, has got bowled quite a few times, unable to deal with one that swings in at pace, and it was the same delivery that got him again. While Pujara and
Virat Kohli (17), who had come in at No. 5 due to a back strain, were at the crease, India just hoped that the match would stretch to the fifth day. The fact that the occasional drizzle was always round the corner and forecast of rain through Monday, the optimist might just have harboured hopes of a jailbreak.
Kohli, quite clearly, was playing through pain and despite his best efforts, a couple of back to back short balls had him. It was a tactic that the England bowlers were trying to use against Kohli to pin him back in his crease and it worked. Broad's rising delivery nicked his glove and Pope completed a diving catch at forward short-leg. That was that.
Virat hopes to be batting fit
Virat Kohli who was battling fitness issues on Sunday was confident of making it for the third Test at Trent Bridge. "After rehab, I would be batting fit. But the intensity in the field might be a bit less."
(AP Photo)
