Bleh, rain sucks.
So day 1, England 127/2. England's day I would say.
India didn't bowl too badly at all. PK and Zak poked and probed with the new ball, swinging it well. PK was brilliant. But it seemed like their tactic in the first session was to test England's patience; not the best ploy against a Top 3 of Strauss, Cook and Trott. They were disciplined, and generally such bowling works. It's not a bad plan to build pressure and try and induce a mistake, but that was always going to be unlikely against this England Top 3.
Having said that, Strauss fell to a rash stroke after the break, although credit does go to MSD and Zak for a very good plan (and a good catch by Ishant), while Zak nipped out Cook for just 12 with a typical Zak dismissal. But you can't help feeling given the conditions, they could have been a little bit more attacking. Attacked the stumps a bit more, in PK's case use the inswinger some more.
After the break, PK kept at it. He used the inswinger more with the old ball, and again was probing away testing KP and Trott's patience. But without that massive hoop and with the pitch easing out, he began to be milked away, although he did beat the bat quite a few times.
Ishant was...himself I guess. A lot of good balls and moments where he looked dangerous, followed by a loosener or two, relieving the pressure. I didn't watch the India/WI matches, so I can't tell if this is how he bowled against WI or if he was below his game. But he certainly wasn't going to trouble this lineup with that sort of lack of consistency.
Bhajji was good, but the pitch didn't offer him much, and apart from the edge early on, he didn't prove much of a threat.
Speaking of the edge, Trott had a good day today. Two half chances missed, but on a better day you'd expect India to snaffle up atleast one of those two opportunities. Instead Trott bats on, easing to a fifty and looking rather solid by the end of the day.
KP fought hard. You could sense he wanted to get a move on, but he held back, nurdling PK and not falling for temptation. Zak was testing him, and in the middle of a fine spell when his hamstring acted up. And that's definitely going to be the main talking point tomorrow. Will Zak be fit to take to the field and bowl? What if he isn't?
If Zak isn't fit to bowl tomorrow, it'll give India massive problems. Bhajji bowling a bulk of the overs in the first innings of a Lords test is not what MSD would have had in mind. Ishant has been erratic, and PK's effectiveness is dimming as the pitch eases up, ball loses shine, and his pace drops. It'll be interesting to see how the Indian think thank handles this problem tomorrow.
So to sum up, easily England's day. The negotiated the hardest part of the innings for only 2 wickets, and Zak's injury has put them far ahead. An attack of just PK, Ishant and Bhajji doesn't seem as threatening. They'll be looking to push on tomorrow for a big score.
As for India...they'll be hoping Ishant regains form and soon. If Zak isn't fit to bowl, expect Bhajji to hold up an end with some support from Raina while Ishant and PK attack in bursts. Ishant's got the ability to nick on wickets on this surface even when the ball is old and the moisture is gone, so they'll need that. As for PK and Bhajji, the patience game might not work for Trott, but England have a stroke filled middle order with KP, Bell, Morgan and Prior, so it might be worth just hanging back a bit tomorrow, stop the flow of runs, and try and induce a mistake.
Will be interesting to say the least. But England well ahead.
So day 1, England 127/2. England's day I would say.
India didn't bowl too badly at all. PK and Zak poked and probed with the new ball, swinging it well. PK was brilliant. But it seemed like their tactic in the first session was to test England's patience; not the best ploy against a Top 3 of Strauss, Cook and Trott. They were disciplined, and generally such bowling works. It's not a bad plan to build pressure and try and induce a mistake, but that was always going to be unlikely against this England Top 3.
Having said that, Strauss fell to a rash stroke after the break, although credit does go to MSD and Zak for a very good plan (and a good catch by Ishant), while Zak nipped out Cook for just 12 with a typical Zak dismissal. But you can't help feeling given the conditions, they could have been a little bit more attacking. Attacked the stumps a bit more, in PK's case use the inswinger some more.
After the break, PK kept at it. He used the inswinger more with the old ball, and again was probing away testing KP and Trott's patience. But without that massive hoop and with the pitch easing out, he began to be milked away, although he did beat the bat quite a few times.
Ishant was...himself I guess. A lot of good balls and moments where he looked dangerous, followed by a loosener or two, relieving the pressure. I didn't watch the India/WI matches, so I can't tell if this is how he bowled against WI or if he was below his game. But he certainly wasn't going to trouble this lineup with that sort of lack of consistency.
Bhajji was good, but the pitch didn't offer him much, and apart from the edge early on, he didn't prove much of a threat.
Speaking of the edge, Trott had a good day today. Two half chances missed, but on a better day you'd expect India to snaffle up atleast one of those two opportunities. Instead Trott bats on, easing to a fifty and looking rather solid by the end of the day.
KP fought hard. You could sense he wanted to get a move on, but he held back, nurdling PK and not falling for temptation. Zak was testing him, and in the middle of a fine spell when his hamstring acted up. And that's definitely going to be the main talking point tomorrow. Will Zak be fit to take to the field and bowl? What if he isn't?
If Zak isn't fit to bowl tomorrow, it'll give India massive problems. Bhajji bowling a bulk of the overs in the first innings of a Lords test is not what MSD would have had in mind. Ishant has been erratic, and PK's effectiveness is dimming as the pitch eases up, ball loses shine, and his pace drops. It'll be interesting to see how the Indian think thank handles this problem tomorrow.
So to sum up, easily England's day. The negotiated the hardest part of the innings for only 2 wickets, and Zak's injury has put them far ahead. An attack of just PK, Ishant and Bhajji doesn't seem as threatening. They'll be looking to push on tomorrow for a big score.
As for India...they'll be hoping Ishant regains form and soon. If Zak isn't fit to bowl, expect Bhajji to hold up an end with some support from Raina while Ishant and PK attack in bursts. Ishant's got the ability to nick on wickets on this surface even when the ball is old and the moisture is gone, so they'll need that. As for PK and Bhajji, the patience game might not work for Trott, but England have a stroke filled middle order with KP, Bell, Morgan and Prior, so it might be worth just hanging back a bit tomorrow, stop the flow of runs, and try and induce a mistake.
Will be interesting to say the least. But England well ahead.
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