http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750: 2nd Test Match – In-depth Analysis Part 1
England trampled India by 319 runs in the second of the four-match Test series at the Trent Bridge, Nottingham in England on Monday, August 1, 2011.
The hosts have now gained a 2-0 lead, as they had already won the series opener at Lord’s. They simply outclassed India in that game as well, winning by a massive margin of 196 runs.
There is no way for the visitors to win the series now, but they will be eying to level it by winning the final two games. However, it will be important for the Indian side to analyse their performance from the first two games in order to overcome their
weaknesses.
After a dismal show in the first Test, the world number one team was expected to bounce back strongly in the next encounter. Their skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 won the toss in the match and decided to field first without any hesitation.
This was a very good sign for the visitors, as the pitch had a lot of assistance for the seamers and the overcast conditions were also expected to cause a lot of problems for the batting side.
England’s opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in 2010, has struggled to get going against the Men in Blue. He was the first man to be dismissed in the innings.
The tall left-handed batsman was a touch unlucky, as he was adjudged leg-before-wicket when the ball would have actually missed the stumps. Cook managed just a couple of runs in his short stay at the crease.
The team’s first-drop http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IJL-Trott-c1576 has the ability and technique to bat in any conditions, but the dependable played missed-out this time around. He got out after adding just 4 runs to the total.
It seemed as the conditions had worked well for the visitors, as they had got off to a strong start in the match, dismissed two batsmen for 23 runs on the board.
However, the English skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 and both players guided the team out of trouble. They put together 50 runs for the third wicket partnership, gaining some sort of momentum.
There was till quite a lot of movement for the bowlers in the air and off the pitch, which kept on troubling the batsmen. The conditions finally had the better of Pietersen, who was dismissed after scoring 29 runs with the help of four boundaries.
Strauss was also unable to make most of the start, getting out for 32 runs. He was followed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Eoin-Joseph-Gerard-Morgan-c56032, who yet again failed to make an impression, getting out for a three-ball duck.
Half of the English side was now sent back to the hut with just 85 runs on the board. The Indian bowlers were in complete control of the innings and continued to trouble the lower-order batsmen.
England’s wicketkeeper batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Bresnan-c2711, who managed 11 runs in his short outing.
Middle-order batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 was still out in the middle, trying to guide his side to a respectable total. His resistance did not last long though, as the stylish right-handed player got out after contributing 31 runs to the total.
The Poms were 124/8 at that stage of the innings and appeared to be restricted below 150.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 out together a crucial 73-run stand for the ninth wicket, guiding the team into a safer position. The latter got out after scoring 28 runs whereas his partner top scored the innings with 64 runs.
Broad’s valiant effort guided the hosts to 221 in their first innings, which looked impossible at one stage of the innings.
Despite losing frontline seamer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/I-Sharma-c1566 picked up three wickets each in the innings, guiding the team into a comfortable position.
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