England’s first three Test matches against India – An Overview – Part 1
Prior to the tour of India, England were under tremendous pressure with everyone counting them out and cold well before the first delivery.
With so much pressure on their shoulders, England flew to India, expecting a h**l of a time against the Indians, who are no less than http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lions-c808 in their own backyard. With a staggering record against England, India were certainly in a better position to be rated
as favourites.
India respected the expectations of their fans, as they won the opening match at Sardar http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Huzefa-Mohammed-Patel-c63657 Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad by nine wickets.
Things went awry for the tourists right from the get go, as they lost the toss and were forced to field first, where they were manhandled by their hosts as openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739 hammered 134, crippling the English bowlers.
After http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CA-Pujara-c1209 as the two batsmen exhibited their superiority against their guests by leading their side to a massive score of 224 before the Indian
opener became the second wicket of the day when he had his stumps obliterated by Swann after smacking a knock of 117.
With the Indian opener out of their way, England needed to regroup and prevent India from continuing their batting onslaught.
They struck gold when with 250 runs on the board; http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 was dismissed by Swann for only 13 runs.
Sachin’s wicket was a big blow for the Indians, who now looked vulnerable against a resurging bowling attack.
While Pujara kept hammering the bowlers from his end, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 were hovering on 283.
Swann had by now become a big problem for the hosts, and while they were having a great time against the other bowlers, Swann was making an impression at will.
The arrival of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 was just what Pujara was looking for as the two batsmen forged another intimidating partnership, shredding the English bowlers without any remorse.
The Indians were outstanding as they declared their first innings after posting a mammoth score of 521. The highlight of their innings was the 206-run knock by Pujara, which earned a lot of praise for him.
Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 acknowledging Pujara’s staggering batting said, “It was a fantastic game for Pujara. He has the temperament to play big innings and has shown that on the domestic circuit. He makes sure he converts fifties to hundreds.”
With a massive total to beat in their first innings, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 had a disappointing start, losing their first wicket with only 26 runs on the board.
After reaching 29, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705, who was promoted up the order, lost his wicket with only two runs to his name.
Alarm bells triggered when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IJL-Trott-c1576 perished without scoring, leaving England stranded on 30 runs.
This was a critical situation for them, still with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 in the middle; they managed to end the second day of play with 41 runs on the board.
This pair now needed to continue its tentative approach the next morning to prevent India from wreaking havoc.
To be continued ...............................
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