England's Tim Bresnan (L) and Stuart Broad (R) leave the field at the end the fourth day of the second cricket Test match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, central England on August 1, 2011. England won by 319 runs. -AFP Photo
England’s margin of victory was a record in terms of runs in tests between the two sides. England’s victory, achieved despite Sachin Tendulkar’s fifty, gave them a 2-0 lead in this four-match series as they looked to knock India off top spot in the ICC’s Test Championship table.
Andrew Strauss’s side will replace India at the summit if they maintain or better their lead in the remaining two Tests.
“We are just going to focus on winning the next Test, the rest of that stuff will look after itself,” said Strauss.
“This was an outstanding performance where we had to dig deep a couple of times, get ourselves on top and make it count.”
Strauss was also full of praise for India captain Mohendra Singh Dhoni for reprieving England batsman Ian Bell after he was run out on Sunday, carelessly leaving his crease to head to the pavilion for tea.
“It was a very commendable decision,” he said. “It was the right thing for cricket. As captain it is a very difficult decision to take and I think Mohendra has set a great example for me and other Test captains.”
Set a record victory target of 478, India were bowled out for 158 with Tendulkar top-scoring with 56 but still left searching for an unprecedented and elusive 100th international hundred.
Bresnan, who only came into the side when Chris Tremlett was ruled out with injury, made 90 batting at number eight in England’s second innings 544 and then did the bulk of the damage with the ball.
He took a maiden Test five wicket haul of five wickets for 48 runs in 12 overs, including two in two balls before tea.
“Tim Bresnan has never let anyone down,” said Strauss. “He was outstanding with bat and ball. It makes the selection decisions harder and harder.”
Before lunch England, who won the first Test at Lord’s by 196 runs, saw off Rahul Dravid, who made 117 in India’s first innings, for just six when he was caught behind off a lifting delivery from man of the match Stuart Broad.
Venkatsai Laxman, another of India’s star batsmen, was then clean bowled by a superb James Anderson delivery for four.
Opener Abhinav Mukund, dropped on nought, struggled to three off 41 balls before gloving Bresnan’s fifth ball, a bouncer, to first slip Strauss.
Bresnan succeeded with the short ball again when Suresh Raina hooked straight to substitute Scott Elstone at long leg.
Tendulkar had struck some typically sublime straight drives off Anderson but he could do nothing as Bresnan took two wickets in two balls.
First Yuvraj Singh gloved a rising delivery to Alastair Cook at backward silly point and was out for eight.
Next ball Dhoni, inexplicably playing no shot, was lbw for a golden duck to leave the tourists 55 for six and Bresnan on a hat-trick at the start of his next over, which Harbhajan Singh survived.
Tendulkar completed his first fifty of the series with his eighth four before Harbhajan slogged off-spinner Graeme Swann for six.
But Tendulkar was undone by a good length inswinger from Anderson, taking his wicket for the seventh time in eight Tests.
Harbhajan exited for 46 when a hook off Bresnan was caught by Elstone, giving the 26-year-old Yorkshire seamer, in his eighth match at this level, a new Test-best, surpassing his four for 50 against Australia in Melbourne in December.
Broad ended the match by bowling last man Shanthakumaran Sreesanth for nought. England resumed Monday on 441 for six with Matt Prior 64 not out and Bresnan 47 not out.
Wicketkeeper Prior was out for 73 to end a seventh-wicket stand of 119 at nearly a run-a-ball when he was caught behind off Praveen Kumar, who led India’s attack with four for 124.
Broad, who had top-scored with 64 in England’s first innings 221 and had then taken a hat-trick on his way to Test-best figures of six for 46 in India’s 288, followed up with 44.
But a ball after Broad was run out, Bresnan’s quest for a maiden Test hundred ended when he fended Kumar to Dravid in the gully.
Bresnan, whose Test-best score remains the 91 he made against Bangladesh in Dhaka last year, faced 118 balls with 17 fours. The third Test starts at Edgbaston on August 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment