One-day divorcees make merry in Headingley Test
Rasesh Mandani - 24 Aug 2002

For the first time in many years of overseas Tests, India entered day the second day at Headingley at a position from where they could contemplate fabricating a winning total on the basis of a solid foundation laid on the first day. India has over the years acquired a reputation of starting slowly in a Test match and allowing the opposition to take the first initiative. This time around, however, they seemed to be determined to play Test match cricket the way it should be played.

For starters, the big guns in the middle order decided to dig deep and make sure the hard work of the second-wicket partnership between Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid did not go waste. In the context of the total India put up, that partnership deserves special mention for the sheer resolve with which the batsmen evaded deliveries virtually leaping off the surface. Going into the first session of the second day, therefore, the real test for India - and England's best chance to get back into the game - was always going to lie within the first hour

Play started an hour late due to rain, which also allowed the surface to freshen up. But Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were in no mood to give the English bowlers even a semblance of a chance with what was still a relatively new ball. Once the first session was seen off, scoring runs became much easier. The batsmen looked immediately more comfortable, and the uneven bounce became easier to handle.

England, consequently, started to bowl fuller, but that method did not prove too fruitful. Three boundaries in an over from Alex Tudor struck by Dravid - all of them drives in front of the wicket - just about summed up how every tactic England tried went wrong. Dravid finally got out to a high-quality flighted delivery from Ashley Giles, and Nasser Hussain was rewarded for the first time in the day for persisting with Giles for a longish spell.

In came Sourav Ganguly, and he too got going without any discomfort, as if carrying on from the 99 at Trent Bridge. But by now the limelight had shifted to focus squarely on the little champion. Tendulkar beautifully on-drove a Giles drifter to the boundary to reach his 30th Test century, taking him past Sir Don Bradman. Yesterday's knock is a century he will cherish for long, for it exemplified the two Tendulkars we have seen over the years - the one of late, who does grim battle with the bowlers in the initial stages, and the more youthful Tendulkar, ornamenting a dominating innings with many attacking shots born of instinct and exuberance.

Ganguly at the other end was batting fluently, save when he decided - without much success - to go after some nasty bouncers. On a day when moments of even moral triumph were few and far between for the bowlers, Ganguly and Tendulkar decided to make merry. The Indian skipper in particular did not make the mistake he committed at Nottingham, going on to complete a well-compiled century.

Dark clouds gathered overhead towards the close of play, but the Indians decided to bat on. It was vintage Tendulkar and Ganguly, reliving for the spectators the many breathtaking partnerships they have shared in the one-day format of the game. One over from Giles - off which Ganguly plundered 23 runs - and a mighty hit over long-on by Tendulkar off Caddick stood out in the assault.

Play finally ended with India at 584 for four, just after Ganguly was castled by Tudor, trying to repeat the lofted shot he had executed so often in his innings. India ended the day definitely on top, calling the shots all the way on the second day, and leaving England with a lot of soul-searching to do.

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