Nagpur, Dec 13: At the end of the first day of the fourth Test, England were 199 for the loss of five wickets with debutant Joe Root and Matt Prior batting on 31 and 34 respectively when stumps were called at Jamtha.
India, who came into the match trailing 1-2 and looking to level four-Test series, kept the England batsmen on their toes and claimed the top order on the first day to keep the match evenly poised at the end of day’s play.
Earlier, after winning the toss for the first time in the series, Alastair Cook opted to bat first at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. India went into the match with only one seamer, Ishant Sharma, who gave them both the wickets that they got in the first session.
The pacer first claimed Nick Compton and then dismissed the England captain to give India early breakthroughs. The ball nicked Compton’s bat and went to MS Dhoni, who took the catch. And thirteen runs later, Sharma trapped Cook leg-before to give India a key wicket. Having lost the mainstay of their line-up early, it was up to Jonathon Trott and another in-form England batsman, Kevin Pietersen to ensure that the visitors didn’t lose anymore wickets. Scoring steadily the duo took England to 61 for two at lunch.
Resuming their partnership post lunch the Trott and Pietersen continued to graft runs and build on the innings. Pietersen soon brought up his fifty with a single to square-leg off Ravichandran Ashwin after hitting the off-spinner for a boundary earlier in the over. But a while later, debutant Ravindra Jadeja struck to end the blossoming partnership for 86. Carrying his good form from domestic cricket on to the international circuit, the left-arm spinner provided India with a crucial breakthrough. The delivery brushed past the off-stump and dislodged the bails to send back Trott for 44.
Ian Bell then joined Pietersen in the middle but didn’t last too long. The batsman departed offering a low catch to Virat Kohli off Piyush Chawla at short extra-cover to return to the pavilion for 1. With the onus of anchoring the innings on him, Pietersen played watchfully and along with Root looked to steady the England innings. Coming in to bat at a critical juncture with the team at 119 for four, Root played cautiously to support the senior partner. With two more batsmen back in the dressing room in the second session, England went in to tea at 133 with Pietersen and Root at the crease.
The hosts then got the important wicket of Pietersen in the third over after tea. The middle-order bat walked back for 73 after hitting the ball to Pragyan Ojha at mid-wicket off Jadeja. With half the England side back in the hut for 139 runs, India were comfortably placed. England wicketkeeper, Matt Prior who had played a gritty knock in the first Test then walked in and with Root he toiled away to take their innings forward. Playing in his first match, 21-year-old Root held his nerve as he saw England through the session along with Prior to finish the day with an unbroken 60-run stand.
Changes in the team: Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja replaced Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh in the Indian team, while Joe Root and Tim Bresnan came in to the England side for Samit Patel and Steve Finn.
Brief scores:
At the end of Day 2: England 1st innings 199/5 in 97 overs (K Pietersen 73, M Prior 34*, J Root 31*, 2/32, I Sharma R Jadeja 2/34)
