India's captain MS Dhoni finally got what he has been craving for. Rank turners, more turn and bounce, pitches that turn viciously like a king cobra following you and what not. But, he wouldn't have liked the scoreboard reading 119-5 when he walked out to bat today. Thankfully, there were other events that highlighted the first day of the second Test between India and England:
SEHWAG'S 100th TEST:
After Gambhir fell to Anderson on the second ball of the match, Virender Sehwag struck four boundaries in his knock of 30 out of which two nearly sent him back to the pavilion. It did not look like he was batting after scoring a hundred in the previous Test as he produced inside and outside edges off Anderson and finally gave Monty Panesar a reason to throw a party. After playing a responsible and reliable innings in Ahmedabad, he gave his wicket away by playing across the line and missed the ball completely.
SRT:
Not a single delivery hit his bat anywhere but its middle. And the one that got him out, missed it completely. Flicks on the on side, a cover drive, front-foot and back-foot strokes, Tendulkar was putting the ingredients together for what was looking like a potent knock. However, Monty produced a wicket-taking delivery, that pitched on leg and took the off stump beating the master completely.
Che PUJARA:
It's simple: England, who possess one of the best bowling attacks in the world, haven't found a way to get him out yet. Brimming with confidence, he was the only batsman who looked comfortable while wickets tumbled at the other end. He held fort on one end from the third ball of the match till stumps and gave the spectators what they came for: a hundred. His technique looked solid, he played with ease off the frontfoot and backfoot, showed the right temperament in tense conditions and played the bounce well. His real test to play on bouncy pitches will arrive only outside the sub-continent so he can't be doing more on Indian pitches against a formidable attack.
ASHWIN THE BATSMAN:
The way this lanky bowler has been batting in Tests, he could very well become a number seven in India's line-up creating space for another bowler in a feeble bowling attack. Apart from a hundred on a flatter pitch on the same ground last year, he scored 62 at Sydney earlier this year and averages over 40 in 10 matches. Not a bad start eh?
MONTY PYTHON:
26 wickets at an average of 25.19 in his last three Tests played on spin-friendly pitches and still doesn't get a chance to play in the first Test in India? And when he gets to bowl on a pitch that offers turn and bounce, he gives you the wickets of Sehwag, Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni. Sehwag gave the ball more than what it deserved but Monty jumped on the opportunity and that opened gates for his confidence. It took Monty a few overs to settle down as he offered full-tosses and short ones often which were put away for boundaries. Then he made sure he bowled consistently on and around middle and off to not give the Indian batsmen much room to swing their arms. What he produced for Tendulkar was a delicious delivery from a left-arm spinner. His discliplined bowling to Kohli (9 runs from 30 balls) meant the Delhi batsman was under pressure as he was finding it difficult find to the gaps. When he got a chance to drive one through the covers, he handed it straight to Nick Compton. Dhoni's dismissal was another example of extracting good turn and bounce as it got the shoulder of his bat and went like a balloon to Swann at gully who got there in the nick of time. That wicket got him closer to another five-wicket haul - it will be his third in four matches.
