Shami, Bhuvi frustrate England

For the second day in a row India and England engaged in intense sparring, and the visitors once again gained a slight edge through a very unlikely combination.

India had warded off a spirited set of English bowlers on Wednesday, ending up at a healthy 259 for four. They had a brilliant chance to further fortify that position on Thursday, but a very ordinary post-lunch session seemed to stall their progress.

But they managed to reach 433 for nine at tea, courtesy a dogged stand between Bhuvneshwar Kumar (46 n.o.) and Mohammad Shami (39 n.o.). The pitch, to borrow a term from an infuriated bunch of English commentators, remained “corporate in nature.”

Still, it was a hard task for a 10th wicket pair to resist the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Liam Plunkett for well over an hour.

Bhuvneshwar and Shami did just that. Bhuvneshwar, who has a hundred and an average hovering around 30 in first-class cricket, is no stranger to such rearguard actions. The Uttar Pradesh lad had helped Mahendra Singh Dhoni to reach his double hundred against Australia at Chennai in 2012, while adding 140 runs for the ninth wicket.

Here, the responsibility was different. Bhuvneshwar didn’t have the luxury of having an accomplished batsman at the other end at Trent Bridge, but he showed enough spunk to drag India past the 400-mark in the company of Shami. It indeed was a mature effort by Bhuvneshwar, and he began to show more trust in Shami after shielding him from the English bowlers in the initial phase.

 From an England perspective, the 81-run alliance off 181 balls between Bhuvneshwar and Shami gave them a stark reminder about their horror encounters against tail-enders like Tino Best, Ashton Agar and Rangana Herath recently.

But that was just one part of the story. Before they met stiff defiance from Bhuvneshwar and Shami, English bowlers threatened to bring curtains on the Indian innings even before the 350-mark. The mini-collapse started in the third ball of the middle session with the dismissal of Ravindra Jadeja.

In an aggressive mood right from the beginning, Jadeja tried to cut pacer Ben Stokes but could only manage a thick edge to Matt Prior behind the wicket.

Dhoni, who was dropped on 50 by Prior off Broad, followed Jadeja to the hut.

The Indian skipper pushed Stokes firmly to mid-off and set off in the pursuit of a quick single, and for once the Jharkhand man found himself late to the crease.

Anderson hit the bull’s eye with a fine run-in and pick-up throw.

Debutant Stuart Binny entered the field accompanied by a round of gentle applause, but his first Test innings yielded just one run off 11 balls, giving a tame catch to Joe Root at gully off Stokes. The medium pacer served another blow to Indians, when he castled Ishant Sharma to reduce them to 346 for nine.

It was such a massive climbdown from the fight the tourists showed on the first day and in the second morning. Opener Murali Vijay, who was unbeaten on 122, and Dhoni, starting from 50 not out, didn’t give the Englishmen much chances, barring an edge by Dhoni that Prior spilled.

India didn’t score as briskly as they did in the morning session on the first day, this time adding 83 runs in a more sedate manner. But more significantly, the Indians didn’t lose a wicket in that passage of play, setting themselves up nicely for a strong charge in the last two sessions.

The determination of English bowlers and a bit of recklessness from Indian batsmen soon tilted the balance in favour of the home side after Vijay was harshly adjudged leg before to Anderson for 146. England wouldn’t have minded the sight of Bhuvneshwar and Shami punching their gloves to begin the last wicket association, but never could the hosts have imagined it as the beginning of something special.

Score board

INDIA (I Innings):
Vijay lbw Anderson    146
(467m, 361b, 25x4, 1x6)
Dhawan c Prior b Anderson    12
(29m, 24b)
Pujara c Bell b Anderson    38
(98m, 69b, 7x4)
Kohli c Bell b Broad    1
(5m, 8b)
Rahane c Cook b Plunkett    32
(107m, 81b, 4x4)
Dhoni (run out)    82
(266m, 152b, 7x4)
Jadeja c Prior b Stokes    25
(34m, 24b, 2x4, 2x6)
Binny c Root b Stokes    1
(12m, 11b)
Bhuvneshwar (batting)    46
(132m, 120b, 4x4)
Ishant b Broad    1
(4m, 6b)
Shami (batting)    39
(122m, 62b, 6x4)
Extras (B-1, LB-8, W-1)    10
Total (9 wkts, 153 overs)    433
Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Dhawan), 2-106 (Pujara), 3-107 (Kohli), 4-178 (Rahane), 5-304 (Vijay), 6-344 (Jadeja), 7-345 (Dhoni), 8-345 (Binny), 9-346 (Ishant).
Bowling: Anderson 35-10-109-3, Broad 33-13-53-2, Stokes 32-6-79-2 (w-1), Plunkett 35-8-84-1, Ali 17-0-93-0, Root 1-0-6-0.