Conquering the final frontier – England’s tour of India thus far [Part 3]
Continued from Part 2 …
The series continued to progress in an exceptionally intriguing fashion, and spectators were treated to a brilliant display during the third Test, played from December 5 to 9 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Having learnt a fair few lessons, England went on to display a remarkable ability to adapt. Prior to the match, much controversy had surrounded Indian skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028’s demand for a particular type of pitch at the Eden Gardens, leading to a row with the curator. However, England ploughed on and adjusted their game accordingly.
English pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705, in particular, put up an outstanding performance and tailored his game to suit the surface, exploiting the track for his own benefit – while England's pacers had been unlucky in the first two matches, they finally came into their own at Kolkata.
Having elected to bat first yet again, India were unable to register a convincing performance. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Monty-Panesar-c2024 (40-13-90-4) swept the pitch clean, bowling India out for 316.
Player of the Match Cook then proceeded to solidify his team’s dominant stance with a superb batting performance. Justifying his appointment as Test captain, Cook scored his third Test century this series – a stupendous 190 – which currently makes him the England captain with the most runs on an http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 tour, breaking a record which was set 51 years ago.
Top-order batsmen Nick Compton (57) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/PP-Ojha-c2198 (52-10-142-4), England worked their way up to a gargantuan 523 before they were all out.
As the match progressed, England’s pacers appeared to settle into a comfortable relationship with the wicket, and India’s second innings saw the home team’s batsmen severely troubled by Anderson (15.4-4-38-3) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739 (49). The hosts were ultimately unable to proceed beyond 247, and set their visitors a far-from-challenging target of 41 runs.
Ashwin (6.1-1-31-2) and Ojha (6-3-10-1) joined forces for a swift strike which saw them taking out Cook (1), Trott (3), and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 (28*) managed to resist the attack, and took their team up to 41 with 7 wickets remaining. Far from being at a disadvantage in the series, England had managed to claim a 2-1 lead.
The final Test, played at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Vidarbha-c860 Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, from December 13 to 17, presented a high-pressure situation for both teams – England were on the verge of making history, and ending a 28-year-long drought of Test series wins in India, while India faced the prospect of their 8-year-long unbeaten run on home ground coming to an end.
England won the toss and chose to bat first, but this time around, an atrocious pitch, coupled with poor umpiring decisions (Cook was wrongly given out twice), impeded their progress. Indian pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 (56), got England up to 330 before they were all out in their first innings.
Continued in Part 4 …
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