1st Test: India v England at Mohali, 3-7 Dec 2001 Ralph Dellor |
India 1st innings:
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It was as if there had been a definite strategy to move forward cautiously for most of the day as the England bowlers strained every physical and mental sinew to keep some semblance of control. However, by the tea interval the batsmen appeared confident enough of their own ability to pick up the tempo without taking undue risks.
The scoring rate having hovered just above two an over throughout the innings, the batsmen took four runs off each of the two overs immediately after the interval. Dravid was beginning to expand his repertoire and went to his fifty with a glorious straight drive off the bowling of Hoggard. Uncharacteristically, he had taken 126 balls to get there, which was perhaps testimony to the accuracy of the attack.
Dasgupta had reached that particular milestone a considerable time before and now he had his sights set on three figures. The 24 year-old did not change his pace discernibly as he approached his maiden Test hundred. Hoggard was again the bowler the wicket-keeper and volunteer opener got the runs that took him to a hundred that was as invaluable as it was unspectacular.
However, no sooner had he recorded his century that he was beaten by a ball from White that might have come back into him a little. If it did, it did enough to hit the stumps and bring such a good innings to a close. The cause might well have been a case of slipping concentration as it was a respectable ball from White.
The fall of Dasgupta's wicket brought Tendulkar to the middle. The prospect of a big partnership with Dravid certainly enlivened the crowd and ensured that the England attack could not afford to relax for a moment.
There was little in the pitch to encourage the bowlers. Dawson did get a little bounce with his off-breaks, even if he could not extract much by way of turn. Ormond showed that he could swing the ball, Flintoff added some aggression to the attack, while White maintained an accurate line, as he had to with an 8-2 off-side field with a gaping void between fine-leg and mid-on. That was sometimes adapted to become 8-1.
No matter what was arrayed against him, Dasgupta went on in his own, unhurried way to his highest Test score. Exceeding the previous best of 63 in his last official Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth, he is beginning to show that he has more qualities than normally associated with a makeshift opener. Much more of this and he can claim the job in his own right rather than moving back to his more familiar position at number seven.
Dravid has further to go if he is to exceed his own highest score in Tests. That stands at 200 not out and while he has time and conditions on his side, the attack did not show any inclination to let him cut loose.
He had a let-off just before tea when he got a short ball from Flintoff down the leg side, Dravid touched it but Foster could not hold on to a chance to his left that he would usually have expected to take as the batsmen went through for the run that brought up the 150.
Nevertheless, the batsmen were apparently intent on not making the same mistakes as England had on the opening day. While the tourists had lost wickets at an alarming rate, Dasgupta and Dravid were determined to conserve theirs – a strategy that produced 71 runs in the afternoon session without losing a wicket, even if the scoring rate had not risen above 2.14 runs an over throughout the innings.
Having safely negotiated the period up until lunch when he came in at the fall of Kumble’s wicket, Dravid played himself in all over again on what appeared to be a very good batting pitch. There was some encouraging bounce for the bowlers, but little in the way of lateral deviation.
It was the bounce rather than any turn that undid Kumble and the off-spinner Dawson, making his Test debut, persisted in what was a very promising spell. With some hostility coming from Flintoff at the other end, it kept the batsmen in check.
Not that Dasgupta was showing any great urgency, but then time was on the batsmen’s side and there would have been little sympathy for anyone who gave their wicket away in such circumstances. Something which English batsmen might well take on board.
It was in the 52nd over of the innings that Dasgupta brought up his fifty. He opened the face of the bat to steer Dawson past the solitary, diving slip to reach the third man boundary. His fifty came from 159 balls and included seven fours and it brought up the Indian hundred at the same time.
Dasgupta’s innings was taking on priceless proportions. For someone not very experienced as an opener, he did what was required of him, sapping the threat of the opening bowlers and paving the way for the stroke-players to come in the middle order.
Dravid falls into that category but was circumspect until taking toll of one over from Dawson that produced 13 runs. It was possible that Dawson had tired in his 13th over, perhaps he showed his inexperience against class batsmen on a good pitch, or perhaps it was a combination of the two.
It meant that the end of the 58th over of the innings, India had reduced the deficit to 110 runs with eight wickets and a lot of time in hand.
After Hoggard, Ormond, Flintoff and Butcher had bowled without success, Hussain turned to White and Dawson. Dawson's second ball was square-driven by Dasgupta for four, but the young Yorkshireman settled to some sort of rhythm and, with his twelfth ball in Test cricket, he took the wicket that England needed so badly.
Kumble had continued to withstand the England attack, playing the nightwatchman's role to perfection. With the watchful Dasgupta he had put on 53 for the second wicket at an albeit rather slow rate. That did not matter, for time was not a problem after England's quick demise on the first day.
It was Dawson's extra bounce that was the undoing of Kumble. He went back in trying to cut a ball outside the off-stump, got a thickish edge and Foster took his first catch in Test cricket to give Dawson his first wicket, among much jubilation in the England ranks.
Kumble had scored 37 valuable runs – over double his Test average – and had done an excellent job in preventing the bowlers making the early breakthrough they were seeking. Nevertheless, those bowlers had kept enough pressure on the batsmen by employing a more disciplined line and length to force a wicket, even if the pace bowlers had been a fraction short in general.
Dasgupta was joined by Dravid who was set on surviving to lunch without trying to impose himself on the attack. He had yet to open his account at the interval, while Dasgupta had crawled on to 34 after a session during which India had added 55 runs in 30 overs for the loss of that one wicket.
There was no doubt that the bowlers would have liked to remove both batsmen to get at the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman while there was still some moisture in the pitch, but there were few opportunities to do so.
Ormond went past the outside edge of Dasgupta's bat with the first two balls of the day, and Hoggard found the edge of Kumble's bat, but saw the ball fly over White in the gully. Apart from those incidents, the batsmen were content to pick off what runs were available while taking a minimum of risk.
Kumble did a splendid job as nightwatchman, doing exactly what India wanted. He remained throughout the first hour, sapping the energy of the bowlers, seeing the shine and hardness of the ball diminish, as well as adding useful runs to the total.
At the other end, Dasgupta was a study in patience as he could afford to be at this stage of a five-day Test. This pair was helped by the fact that the England bowlers tended to drop a little short of a length to trouble the batsmen consistently.
After Hoggard and Ormond failed to make the breakthrough that became increasingly urgent for England, Hussain turned to Flintoff for the first time and Butcher, the one bowler to have taken a wicket. The move did not disturb the batsmen unduly and it remained to be seen when the captain would introduce the spin of Dawson.
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Date-stamped : 05 Dec2001 - 06:51