A remarkable display of batting by Joe Root and three important wickets by James Anderson ensured England’s dominance on the second day of the fourth Test at Nagpur.
Root showed the same presence of mind and calm that helped him steady his side on the previous day, scoring a patient 73 before being caught and bowled by Piyush Chawla who grabbed a career-best four for 69. Root’s knock was complemented by Graeme Swann who smashed 56 – his fifth Test half-century - to help England to 330 on a slow pitch.
Swann then also broke a promising 58-run partnership between Gautam Gambhir (37) and Cheteshwar Pujara (26), picking up the latter’s wicket with the help of a superb diving catch by Ian Bell. Anderson managed to score only four before falling victim to Chawla, but his three for 24 made up for that. He first bowled veteran Virender Sehwag for a duck in the opening over before sending Sachin Tendulkar back to the hut. He dismissed Gambhir when the batsman drove a faint edge to Matt Prior.
Virat Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten at the close of play, with India perched at 87 for four.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ