ID :
36857
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 00:49
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http://m.oananews.org//node/36857
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Pietersen leads from front, England 282 for 6
Mohali, Dec 21 (PTI) India claimed two wickets late in
the day to seize the initiative after Kevin Pietersen led a
spirited England fightback with a scintillating 144 on the
third day of the second and final cricket Test here Sunday.
As England were precariously poised at one run for loss
of two wicket in just seven balls this morning, Pietersen
raised 103 runs with Alastair Cook (50) to arrest the slide
before putting on another 149 with Andrew Flintoff (62) as the
visitors finished the day at 282 for six.
The visitors could have been in a better position but for
a dramatic last two overs, which saw both Pietersen and
Flintoff perishing in quick succession. James Anderson was
batting on one when stumps were drawn following Flintoff’s
dismissal.
England still trail India by 171 runs with four wickets
in hand in their first essay. Pietersen’s audacious 201-ball
knock was the product of his five-hour vigil during which he
hit 17 fours and a spectacular switch-hit six off Harbhajan
Singh before eventually falling to the offie towards the end.
An equally bellicose Flintoff garnished his 132-ball
knock with six fours and a six.
A thick fog delayed the start of the play by 90 minutes
but India didn’t have to wait long to get the early
breakthroughs.
Rather, their first spell proved quite expensive for
England, costing them two of their top order batsmen. On a
high after his twin tons in the Chennai Test, Andrew Strauss
(0) was brought down to earth by Zaheer Khan’s third delivery,
which rapped him in front and umpire Daryl Harper felt it
would have hit the stumps.
Like Strauss, Ian Bell’s (1) too was a brief three-ball
stay as the very first delivery Ishant Sharma sent down proved
a wicket-taking one. It took an inside edge before uprooting
Bell’s middle stump.
It was quite an unenviable position as Pietersen walked
out to bat. His opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni stunned
all by replacing Zaheer with Yuvraj Singh after the left-arm
seamer had removed Strauss in his first over.
The ploy, apparently prompted by the fact that Yuvraj had
trapped Kevin Pietersen in the second innings of the Chennai
Test, didn’t eventually pay off and Zaheer was soon back in
the attack.
His side in the doldrums, Pietersen was not ready to
allow the pressure bog him down and decided not to hold
himself back. With Cook too lending a helping hand, Pietersen
set out on a bailout job.
Pietersen clipped Ishant for his first four and then hit
Zaheer for two boundaries in the same over – a flick wide off
the leg-slip and an on-drive – to signal his intention.
Having witnessed both the setbacks from the other end,
Cook was understandably cautious and the first two boundaries
flowing from his bat were immaculate straight drives.
The left-hander then went on to hit Zaheer for two
boundaries in the same over – last one being an elegant pull.
Cook stepped on gas in the post-lunch session and Zaheer once
again copped two boundaries in the same over.
The left-arm seamer almost had Cook when the batsman was
on 44 but Sachin Tendulkar could not pouch the difficult
chance at the lone slip.
A relieved Cook added another six runs to complete his
fifty but Zaheer finally settled score with a yorker that
trapped the batsman plumb in front.
England needed another of those gutsy knocks from Paul
Collingwood (11) but this was clearly not his day as Amit
Mishra joined Zaheer and Ishant in claiming a wicket in his
first over.
Mishra’s third ball was a classic leg-spinner with plenty
of flight and it turned viciously to take the edge off
Collingwood’s blade before nestling into Dhoni's gloves.
The diminutive leggie troubled Flintoff too with his
prodigious turn before the strapping all-rounder decided
offence is the best defence and went run-a-ball at that stage.
Accordingly, Mishra was clipped through mid-wicket,
driven through mid-on before struck for back-to-back
boundaries. Yuvraj didn’t escape the punishment either and was
smote straight out of the ground as Flintoff looked good for a
big knock.
Not really used to playing the second fiddle, Pietersen
then treated Harbhajan the same way he had done with bowlers
like Muttiah Muralitharan (2006) and Scott Styris (2008).
The sparse Mohali crowd saw the same switch-hit as
Pietersen sprung to change his stance and slog-swept Harbhajan
out of the ground for a massive six. He did try on against
Mishra as well but with limited success, even though he
succeeded to snap the rhythm of the Indian spinner. PTI
the day to seize the initiative after Kevin Pietersen led a
spirited England fightback with a scintillating 144 on the
third day of the second and final cricket Test here Sunday.
As England were precariously poised at one run for loss
of two wicket in just seven balls this morning, Pietersen
raised 103 runs with Alastair Cook (50) to arrest the slide
before putting on another 149 with Andrew Flintoff (62) as the
visitors finished the day at 282 for six.
The visitors could have been in a better position but for
a dramatic last two overs, which saw both Pietersen and
Flintoff perishing in quick succession. James Anderson was
batting on one when stumps were drawn following Flintoff’s
dismissal.
England still trail India by 171 runs with four wickets
in hand in their first essay. Pietersen’s audacious 201-ball
knock was the product of his five-hour vigil during which he
hit 17 fours and a spectacular switch-hit six off Harbhajan
Singh before eventually falling to the offie towards the end.
An equally bellicose Flintoff garnished his 132-ball
knock with six fours and a six.
A thick fog delayed the start of the play by 90 minutes
but India didn’t have to wait long to get the early
breakthroughs.
Rather, their first spell proved quite expensive for
England, costing them two of their top order batsmen. On a
high after his twin tons in the Chennai Test, Andrew Strauss
(0) was brought down to earth by Zaheer Khan’s third delivery,
which rapped him in front and umpire Daryl Harper felt it
would have hit the stumps.
Like Strauss, Ian Bell’s (1) too was a brief three-ball
stay as the very first delivery Ishant Sharma sent down proved
a wicket-taking one. It took an inside edge before uprooting
Bell’s middle stump.
It was quite an unenviable position as Pietersen walked
out to bat. His opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni stunned
all by replacing Zaheer with Yuvraj Singh after the left-arm
seamer had removed Strauss in his first over.
The ploy, apparently prompted by the fact that Yuvraj had
trapped Kevin Pietersen in the second innings of the Chennai
Test, didn’t eventually pay off and Zaheer was soon back in
the attack.
His side in the doldrums, Pietersen was not ready to
allow the pressure bog him down and decided not to hold
himself back. With Cook too lending a helping hand, Pietersen
set out on a bailout job.
Pietersen clipped Ishant for his first four and then hit
Zaheer for two boundaries in the same over – a flick wide off
the leg-slip and an on-drive – to signal his intention.
Having witnessed both the setbacks from the other end,
Cook was understandably cautious and the first two boundaries
flowing from his bat were immaculate straight drives.
The left-hander then went on to hit Zaheer for two
boundaries in the same over – last one being an elegant pull.
Cook stepped on gas in the post-lunch session and Zaheer once
again copped two boundaries in the same over.
The left-arm seamer almost had Cook when the batsman was
on 44 but Sachin Tendulkar could not pouch the difficult
chance at the lone slip.
A relieved Cook added another six runs to complete his
fifty but Zaheer finally settled score with a yorker that
trapped the batsman plumb in front.
England needed another of those gutsy knocks from Paul
Collingwood (11) but this was clearly not his day as Amit
Mishra joined Zaheer and Ishant in claiming a wicket in his
first over.
Mishra’s third ball was a classic leg-spinner with plenty
of flight and it turned viciously to take the edge off
Collingwood’s blade before nestling into Dhoni's gloves.
The diminutive leggie troubled Flintoff too with his
prodigious turn before the strapping all-rounder decided
offence is the best defence and went run-a-ball at that stage.
Accordingly, Mishra was clipped through mid-wicket,
driven through mid-on before struck for back-to-back
boundaries. Yuvraj didn’t escape the punishment either and was
smote straight out of the ground as Flintoff looked good for a
big knock.
Not really used to playing the second fiddle, Pietersen
then treated Harbhajan the same way he had done with bowlers
like Muttiah Muralitharan (2006) and Scott Styris (2008).
The sparse Mohali crowd saw the same switch-hit as
Pietersen sprung to change his stance and slog-swept Harbhajan
out of the ground for a massive six. He did try on against
Mishra as well but with limited success, even though he
succeeded to snap the rhythm of the Indian spinner. PTI
