This is going to be an attritional Test, one that forces patience,
perseverance and creativity to surface as the key traits of not only the
two teams battling it out in Trent Bridge but also of all those
watching India's first Test against England in the Investec Series. The
players who showcased these characteristics on Wednesday were well
rewarded.
Murali Vijay showed application through the opening day and Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought in the element of creativity during the 81-run partnership to help India finish the day at 259 for four. The fifth-wicket pair has already negotiated nine overs against the second new ball with some comfort and must tackle the opening hour with a similar approach if India are to get well and truly on top.
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However, India will have to show some urgency and up the rate of scoring as well since the nature of the track is unlikely to change drastically for their bowlers to fare better than the home attack. Indeed, the track has been quite lifeless, not offering any encouragement to the bowlers by way of pace or bounce.
The Indian batsmen were in some trouble only when the England bowlers obtained reverse swing in the second session on Wednesday. There could be a cloud cover over the next couple of days and help the swing bowlers just that bit. But India cannot be left hoping that there will some uneven bounce, too, for their bowlers to exploit as we often see on some tracks back home.
One of India's allies will be the frustration in the England camp as evidenced by premier paceman James Anderson's testimony against the pitch.
"We are amazing hosts... as bowlers we want our nicks to carry and for there to be a more even contest between bat and ball but our attitude was fantastic. We're probably as frustrated as everyone else is watching. But there's not a lot we can do about it at this stage, we have to stick at it and try and winkle out six wickets (on Thursday) if we can," Anderson said.
There was an important pointer for Dhoni in Alastair Cook's field-placing. Of course, the England captain earned his team catches off Cheteshwar Pujara at unconventional silly mid-on and Ajinkya Rahane at silly point but a number of edges fell short of the slip fielders. They indicated that the fielders were standing too far back despite Matt Prior urging them to move further up.
Barring perhaps the selection of Stuart Binny ahead of a specialist spinner in R Ashwin, Dhoni has made the right moves thus far. The most significant has been his decision to bat at No. 6 rather coming lower down the order. It has showcased the right intent and its value was enhanced when his creative, if at times unorthodox, approach to challenging the bowlers paid fair dividends.
To be fair, well as India have played to get to 259 for four, it cannot be said that Dhoni's team is on top of the home side. Well begun is only half-done. And it is up to the fifth wicket pair to continue the good work if India are to assume greater control of the Test match and make it tough for England over the next four days.rent Bridge: Murali Vijay's fourth Test century and MS Dhoni's 30th Test fifty helped India finish on a strong 259/4 at stumps on day one of the first Test at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
India started off on the right note under sunny skies by winning the toss and opting to bat first on a pitch which was devoid of grass. Such was the nature of this wicket at Trent Bridge that former England captain, Alec Stewart, tweeted
Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay started off on a confident note before James Anderson snapped up Dhawan for 12. The wicket was Anderson's 50th Test wicket at this venue. Cheteshwar Pujara came in and looked good with some confident strokes as he and Vijay helped India reach 106/1 at lunch. Vijay, in particular, looked comfortable on both the back foot and the front foot as he drove and cut with ease. He left the ball well outside off stump and he handled the bouncer barrage from the England bowlers pretty well
Following the lunch interval, there was a moment of inspiration in the second over when Alastair Cook, who had chosen to be defensive in the first session, placed a silly mid-on for Cheteshwar Pujara. James Anderson bowled a slower delivery and got it to curve back in. Pujara, who was too early into the stroke, chipped it to silly mid-on where Ian Bell dived to his right to take a one-handed stunner to break the 73-run stand.
In the very next over, Stuart Broad managed to get the big fish in Virat Kohli for 1 as he poked at a delivery outside off to second slip to give Bell his second catch. Suddenly, England were in the ascendency and they could have had a third wicket immediately only for Ajinkya Rahane's edge to fall perilously short of Bell.
The first hour after lunch was a grind for India as they scored only 18 runs in 14 overs. Anderson, who bowled six overs in his second spell, troubled both the batsmen while Broad probed away. However, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes failed to back up the effort of the other two bowlers and this allowed Vijay and Rahane to steady the Indian innings. Vijay, in particular, looked comfortable and he capitalised on his good work in the first session by slamming two fours in Plunkett's 11th over. Rahane, who dug in patiently, finally got going by slamming two fours off Moeen Ali.
However, England once again got the breakthrough immediately after the tea break. Plunkett, who was predominantly operating from around the wicket and bowling short, managed to induce a false stroke from Rahane but the edge fell just in front of Cook at silly point. However, in the same over, Rahane was beaten by the change of pace and he toe-ended a pull to silly point where Cook took a sharp catch to be dismissed for 32.
Anderson kept plugging away but MS Dhoni chose to attack as he he scored at a strike-rate of over 90. Vijay, who batted patiently and spent some time on 99, flicked Anderson to mid wicket to pinch a single to bring up a wonderful century. This knock came as a big relief for Vijay following his poor show in New Zealand and he grew in confidence as the day wore on
England took the second new ball in the 81st over but Dhoni and Vijay ensured no hiccups as India made a strong start to the tour by finishing day one at 259/4.
Murali Vijay showed application through the opening day and Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought in the element of creativity during the 81-run partnership to help India finish the day at 259 for four. The fifth-wicket pair has already negotiated nine overs against the second new ball with some comfort and must tackle the opening hour with a similar approach if India are to get well and truly on top.
circket news
However, India will have to show some urgency and up the rate of scoring as well since the nature of the track is unlikely to change drastically for their bowlers to fare better than the home attack. Indeed, the track has been quite lifeless, not offering any encouragement to the bowlers by way of pace or bounce.
The Indian batsmen were in some trouble only when the England bowlers obtained reverse swing in the second session on Wednesday. There could be a cloud cover over the next couple of days and help the swing bowlers just that bit. But India cannot be left hoping that there will some uneven bounce, too, for their bowlers to exploit as we often see on some tracks back home.
One of India's allies will be the frustration in the England camp as evidenced by premier paceman James Anderson's testimony against the pitch.
"We are amazing hosts... as bowlers we want our nicks to carry and for there to be a more even contest between bat and ball but our attitude was fantastic. We're probably as frustrated as everyone else is watching. But there's not a lot we can do about it at this stage, we have to stick at it and try and winkle out six wickets (on Thursday) if we can," Anderson said.
There was an important pointer for Dhoni in Alastair Cook's field-placing. Of course, the England captain earned his team catches off Cheteshwar Pujara at unconventional silly mid-on and Ajinkya Rahane at silly point but a number of edges fell short of the slip fielders. They indicated that the fielders were standing too far back despite Matt Prior urging them to move further up.
Barring perhaps the selection of Stuart Binny ahead of a specialist spinner in R Ashwin, Dhoni has made the right moves thus far. The most significant has been his decision to bat at No. 6 rather coming lower down the order. It has showcased the right intent and its value was enhanced when his creative, if at times unorthodox, approach to challenging the bowlers paid fair dividends.
To be fair, well as India have played to get to 259 for four, it cannot be said that Dhoni's team is on top of the home side. Well begun is only half-done. And it is up to the fifth wicket pair to continue the good work if India are to assume greater control of the Test match and make it tough for England over the next four days.rent Bridge: Murali Vijay's fourth Test century and MS Dhoni's 30th Test fifty helped India finish on a strong 259/4 at stumps on day one of the first Test at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
India started off on the right note under sunny skies by winning the toss and opting to bat first on a pitch which was devoid of grass. Such was the nature of this wicket at Trent Bridge that former England captain, Alec Stewart, tweeted
Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay started off on a confident note before James Anderson snapped up Dhawan for 12. The wicket was Anderson's 50th Test wicket at this venue. Cheteshwar Pujara came in and looked good with some confident strokes as he and Vijay helped India reach 106/1 at lunch. Vijay, in particular, looked comfortable on both the back foot and the front foot as he drove and cut with ease. He left the ball well outside off stump and he handled the bouncer barrage from the England bowlers pretty well
Following the lunch interval, there was a moment of inspiration in the second over when Alastair Cook, who had chosen to be defensive in the first session, placed a silly mid-on for Cheteshwar Pujara. James Anderson bowled a slower delivery and got it to curve back in. Pujara, who was too early into the stroke, chipped it to silly mid-on where Ian Bell dived to his right to take a one-handed stunner to break the 73-run stand.
In the very next over, Stuart Broad managed to get the big fish in Virat Kohli for 1 as he poked at a delivery outside off to second slip to give Bell his second catch. Suddenly, England were in the ascendency and they could have had a third wicket immediately only for Ajinkya Rahane's edge to fall perilously short of Bell.
The first hour after lunch was a grind for India as they scored only 18 runs in 14 overs. Anderson, who bowled six overs in his second spell, troubled both the batsmen while Broad probed away. However, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes failed to back up the effort of the other two bowlers and this allowed Vijay and Rahane to steady the Indian innings. Vijay, in particular, looked comfortable and he capitalised on his good work in the first session by slamming two fours in Plunkett's 11th over. Rahane, who dug in patiently, finally got going by slamming two fours off Moeen Ali.
However, England once again got the breakthrough immediately after the tea break. Plunkett, who was predominantly operating from around the wicket and bowling short, managed to induce a false stroke from Rahane but the edge fell just in front of Cook at silly point. However, in the same over, Rahane was beaten by the change of pace and he toe-ended a pull to silly point where Cook took a sharp catch to be dismissed for 32.
Anderson kept plugging away but MS Dhoni chose to attack as he he scored at a strike-rate of over 90. Vijay, who batted patiently and spent some time on 99, flicked Anderson to mid wicket to pinch a single to bring up a wonderful century. This knock came as a big relief for Vijay following his poor show in New Zealand and he grew in confidence as the day wore on
England took the second new ball in the 81st over but Dhoni and Vijay ensured no hiccups as India made a strong start to the tour by finishing day one at 259/4.
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