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36644
Sat, 12/20/2008 - 08:18
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Gambhir and Dravid guide India to a comfortable position
Amlan Chakraborty
Mohali, Dec 19 (PTI) In-form Gautam Gambhir cracked his third century in four matches and Rahul Dravid marked his return to form as India recoverd from a shaky start to put themselves on course for a huge first innings total in the second cricket Test against England here Friday.
Gambhir (106 not out) traded belligerence for maturity
while born-again Dravid (65 not out) exorcised the demons to
star in a bailout act as India reached a comfortable 179 for
one at close on a truncated opening day.
Virender Sehwag’s scoreless exit in only the second over
of the day denied India a flying start they are so used to
these days.
To their credit, Gambhir and Dravid gamely hung on and
eventually stitched together an unbeaten 173-run stand that
not only pre-empted the fear of a batting collapse but also
propped up the hosts on a chilly, gloomy day.
Gambhir, who took the cudgel on himself to guide India to
safety after Sehwag’s early dismissal, remained not out on 106
off 229 balls, a knock garnished with 12 fours and a huge six
off Graeme Swann.
This was his third century in four matches, underlining
the magical year he had. Dravid, on his part, finally got a
huge monkey off his back with an unbeaten 205-ball 65 that
included seven fours and spoke volume of his grit and
gumption.
Only 72 overs could be bowled Friday before bad light
dropped early curtains on the proceedings 45 minutes before
scheduled close.
After poor light delayed the start of the match by 20
minutes, a laden sky and a gushing wind made it pretty much
home conditions for the visitors and M S Dhoni’s decision to
bat first looked doomed as India saw Sehwag back in the
hut with the scoreboard reading just six.
After poking at the first two balls he received from
Broad, Sehwag ran out of luck and nicked the third and it was
pretty much a routine catch for Matt Prior behind the stumps.
The early setback, besides Dravid’s initial struggle at
the other end, prompted Gambhir to mothball his natural
attacking game and focus more on surviving the treacherous
morning session.
Naturally, the run rate took a nosedive and it was rather
an unusual sight to see India crawl to 15 in the first 10
overs.
Gambhir got off the mark by sending the second ball of
the innings to the boundary ropes but India had to wait
another 11 overs before the next boundary came, highlighting
their initial toiling.
Dravid, at the other end, looked in all sort of troubles
as he struggled to middle the ball. On one occasion, his
fluffed pull looped up and landed in the no man’s land between
the square and fine leg and when he pulled James Anderson to
get into double figures, it turned out to be his first
boundary in the last five innings.
Gambhir bloomed at the other end and stepped out to hit
Monty Panesar for two boundaries in his first over.
Post-lunch session, Dravid too grew in confidence and
looked more at home against the English attack and ran down
Broad through the vacant third slip for a boundary and then
took a couple off Andrew Flintoff to reach his first fifty in
nine innings.
Gambhir slammed Anderson for back-to-back boundaries but
was lucky when Paul Collingwood, otherwise safest of the
English catchers, spilled a difficult chance off Swann in the
lone slip when the left-hander was on 70.
The Delhi opener returned after tea to hoick the
off-spinner over long on for a massive six and a couple off
Anderson took him to his fourth Test ton.
Overall, it was a day of hard toil for the England
attack, which managed just one wicket in three sessions.PTI AY
Mohali, Dec 19 (PTI) In-form Gautam Gambhir cracked his third century in four matches and Rahul Dravid marked his return to form as India recoverd from a shaky start to put themselves on course for a huge first innings total in the second cricket Test against England here Friday.
Gambhir (106 not out) traded belligerence for maturity
while born-again Dravid (65 not out) exorcised the demons to
star in a bailout act as India reached a comfortable 179 for
one at close on a truncated opening day.
Virender Sehwag’s scoreless exit in only the second over
of the day denied India a flying start they are so used to
these days.
To their credit, Gambhir and Dravid gamely hung on and
eventually stitched together an unbeaten 173-run stand that
not only pre-empted the fear of a batting collapse but also
propped up the hosts on a chilly, gloomy day.
Gambhir, who took the cudgel on himself to guide India to
safety after Sehwag’s early dismissal, remained not out on 106
off 229 balls, a knock garnished with 12 fours and a huge six
off Graeme Swann.
This was his third century in four matches, underlining
the magical year he had. Dravid, on his part, finally got a
huge monkey off his back with an unbeaten 205-ball 65 that
included seven fours and spoke volume of his grit and
gumption.
Only 72 overs could be bowled Friday before bad light
dropped early curtains on the proceedings 45 minutes before
scheduled close.
After poor light delayed the start of the match by 20
minutes, a laden sky and a gushing wind made it pretty much
home conditions for the visitors and M S Dhoni’s decision to
bat first looked doomed as India saw Sehwag back in the
hut with the scoreboard reading just six.
After poking at the first two balls he received from
Broad, Sehwag ran out of luck and nicked the third and it was
pretty much a routine catch for Matt Prior behind the stumps.
The early setback, besides Dravid’s initial struggle at
the other end, prompted Gambhir to mothball his natural
attacking game and focus more on surviving the treacherous
morning session.
Naturally, the run rate took a nosedive and it was rather
an unusual sight to see India crawl to 15 in the first 10
overs.
Gambhir got off the mark by sending the second ball of
the innings to the boundary ropes but India had to wait
another 11 overs before the next boundary came, highlighting
their initial toiling.
Dravid, at the other end, looked in all sort of troubles
as he struggled to middle the ball. On one occasion, his
fluffed pull looped up and landed in the no man’s land between
the square and fine leg and when he pulled James Anderson to
get into double figures, it turned out to be his first
boundary in the last five innings.
Gambhir bloomed at the other end and stepped out to hit
Monty Panesar for two boundaries in his first over.
Post-lunch session, Dravid too grew in confidence and
looked more at home against the English attack and ran down
Broad through the vacant third slip for a boundary and then
took a couple off Andrew Flintoff to reach his first fifty in
nine innings.
Gambhir slammed Anderson for back-to-back boundaries but
was lucky when Paul Collingwood, otherwise safest of the
English catchers, spilled a difficult chance off Swann in the
lone slip when the left-hander was on 70.
The Delhi opener returned after tea to hoick the
off-spinner over long on for a massive six and a couple off
Anderson took him to his fourth Test ton.
Overall, it was a day of hard toil for the England
attack, which managed just one wicket in three sessions.PTI AY
