1st test : Injured Indians dig deep but England won by 196 runs.
Like a King whose crown was inherited not accomplished, India conceeded 196 run victory to challengers England in this first test at Lord's, digging up a hole that'll require them almost a miracle to comeback from and stay numero uno..It was a test match where renouned Indian batting never really expressed themselves on English bowlers whereas Kevin Pietersen's double century in first innings and Matt Prior's counter attacking ton in second took full toll on visitor's handicaped bowling attack in absense of Zaheer Khan who broke down on day one. Gautam Gambhir was hit on elbow on day 4 while Sachin Tendulkar caught a viral infection and didn't take field almost all of day 4. here's how the story unfolded :- The scores :- England 474/8dec & 269/6dec India 286 allout & 261 allout Full scorecard : 1st test, Lord's, 2011. MS Dhoni has rarely been lucky with the toss but on day 1, he was. Half an hour delay due to wet outfield, conditions were overcast and electing to field an obvious choice. Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar struggled to find their length early on but Khan later removed both openers through some smart bowling on either side of lunch break before developing hamstring strain and leaving field. Jonathan Trott then took England to tea break with Kevin Pietersen after which rain returned and no play was possible. On day 2, depleted Indian bowling new their two remaining fast bowlers had to take the extra load and both Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma did everything they could. Praveen Kumar impressed with his control and persistent swing and claimed a five wicket haul but couldn't dislodge Kevin Pietersen who raised two century stands (with Ian Bell & Matt Prior). England declared their innings half an hour before close of play, hoping for a few early wickets but Abhinav Mukund and Gautam Gambhir saw visitors through to stumps. Day 3 started in glowing sun-shine aka a batting day it was but Indians just couldn't find their feat. Rahul Dravid kept his concentration going but all his mates came and went from other end. Dravid scored his first century at Lord's but England secured healthy 188 run lead. stretching it 5 runs further by the close of play. On day 4, Ishant Sharma was on verge of turning the tables around as he claimed 4 wickets in just 17 balls, leaving England struggling at 5 wkts for 62 but surprisingly, captain Dhoni didn't bring him back straight after lunch break which game Matt Prior the breathing space he pounced on, and scored a blistering century. Stuart Broad game him fine support, enabling captain Strauss to declared once again and set an almost impossible target of 458 for visitors from 125 overs remaining. On day 5, with just one wicket down, Indian batting crumbled under pressure created by home team. Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir as well as Suresh Raina got off to starts but couldn't continue. James Anderson got five-for and sealed a handsome win with over 20 overs remaining in the match. Related Articles |