After two intriguing matches, England and India are locked at 1-1 as they head into the final two Tests of the series.
The first match in Ahmedabad turned into a nightmare for the tourists. After choosing to bat first, the Indian top order took the attack to the English bowlers with Virender Sehwag setting the tone with a trademark swashbuckling century. He was ably assisted by Cheteshwar Pujara who looks set to become a star of Indian cricket for many years to come. Using a combination of wristy flicks and powerful cover drives, the 24-year-old frustrated England for two days and completed a deserved double century as the home side declared on 521-8.
It was then the turn of the Indian bowlers to shine with England’s traditional weakness against spin being exposed once again as they collapsed to 191 all out. Following on, captain Alistair Cook led by example with an excellent century whilst Matt Prior chipped in with 91. However, Pragyan Ojha continued to toil away, finishing with nine wickets in the match to put India 1-0 up in the series.
Following the defeat at Ahmedabad, Cook issued a rallying call encouraging his team to show more determination and skill in Mumbai. He will have been pleased with his side’s initial efforts as they restricted India to 327 in their first innings. Pujara played the anchor role yet once more with 135 but his teammates struggled to cope with Graeme Swann and the recalled Monty Panesar who collected nine wickets between them.
Panesar was particularly impressive, varying his pace and angles to maximum effect on a helpful pitch. In reply, England were again indebted to Cook who controlled the innings perfectly with another hundred. He found a willing accomplice in the shape of Kevin Pietersen who played one of the best innings in modern times. After playing himself in, he set about counter-attacking the Indian bowlers with shots all around the ground. Once he was finally out for 186, there was no doubt that he had been ‘re-integrated’ back into the team after his controversial summer.
Both Cook and Pietersen are now only one hundred away from becoming the leading century scorer in England’s history. With the tourists on the back foot, it was time for Swann and Panesar to once again outfox their Indian counterparts. This time they shared all ten wickets in the innings as MS Dhoni’s men fell to a ten wicket defeat. Following the defeat in Ahmedabad and the loss of Ian Bell due to paternity leave, it truly was one of the most memorable England victories in living memory.
The series now heads to Kolkata with both teams looking to go ahead in the series. England will be buoyed by the return to form for Panesar and Pietersen but still have concerns over the fitness of Steve Finn and form of Stuart Broad. India will need to regroup and hope that their stellar batting order can perform better this time round. It is all set to be a fantastic finale to the series with a winner too hard to predict.
Simon Dewhurst
exeposedev 