Pietersen alone gets better of Nagpur pitch

Kevin Pietersen's 188-ball 73 was not enough to prevent England enduring a difficult first day in Nagpur as they try to protect their 2-1 lead in the four-match series against India.

By stumps, however, England had rallied to 199 for 5 thanks to a defiant and so far unbroken sixth wicket stand of 60 between Joe Root, who has battled 110 balls for his 31 not out, and Matt Prior, who is unbeaten on 34.

India, who caused plenty of comment throughout an attritional day's cricket on a lifeless pitch by picking four spinners in their five-man attack, bowled 97 overs in the day but could not part Root and Prior in the final 29 overs.

Trouble began early, with Nick Compton nibbling at a short ball from Ishant Sharma, the only seamer included in a controversial Indian selection, and thin-edging to MS Dhoni behind the wicket to leave England 3 for 1 in the fifth over.

And Alastair Cook, who had scored 548 runs in the first three Tests of the series, had made only 1 from 28 balls when he was adudged lbw to Sharma on the front foot - a decision by umpire Kumar Dharmasena that was shown to be a wretched one by television replays.

There was no pace or bounce at all in a dry, cracked surface and Paul Collingwood, the former England batsman who is in Nagpur commentating for Indian television, predicted that the Test would not last much beyond three days as the pitch would quickly become "like a dry river bed" in the hot sunshine.

The 86 that Pietersen and Jonathan Trott added for England's third wicket might therefore assume significant proportions before the end of this game, and so well did the pair bat that it was a big surprise when, soon after lunch, Trott left a looping non-spinner from Ravindra Jadeja and watched it curl into his off stump to bowl him for 44.

Ian Bell, who like his captain laboured 28 balls for just a single, push-drove tamely to short extra cover to give legspinner Piyush Chawla a first wicket on his Test comeback, but Pietersen - now joined by Root - saw England through to tea at 133 for 4.

Pietersen had seemed the one batsman capable of getting on top of the bowlers, using his height and his strength to lever the ball over or through the defensive field whenever the opportunity arose. No other batsman attempted to loft straight or over cover as KP did in a responsible but still positive innings.

How disappointing then, when Pietersen fell to as soft a dismissal as Trott and Bell - advancing down the pitch to Jadeja, the left-arm spinning all-rounder brought in to replace Yuvraj Singh, and chipping a low catch to Pragyan Ojha at short mid-wicket.

At 139 for 5 the England first innings looked in danger of damaging underachievement but Root and Prior dug in with determination and all the patience that is so necessary on a pitch that will surely deteriorate enough for the draw to be an unlikely outcome. England are in a dogfight here.




Date: 13/12/2012 11:16:15 by TheCricketer
In: Today | England |