MS Dhoni and management could forget the ghosts of 2011, for now as the visitors sit nearly on top in the 2nd Test with England closing on 105 for four at the end of day four.
MS Dhoni and management could forget the ghosts of 2011, for now as the visitors sit nearly on top in the 2nd Test with England closing on 105 for four at the end of day four.
Alastair Cook’s latest failure with the bat prolonged the debate about his future as England captain as England faltered in their chase of 319. But the odds were on India going 1-0 up in this five-match series, after last week’s draw at Trent Bridge, and recording their second victory in 17 Tests at Lord’s following their lone win back in 1986.
At the close of play, Joe Root was 14 not out and Moeen Ali 15 not out at the close, the pair having come together after England lost three wickets for two runs in collapsing to 72 for four. Fast-medium bowler Ishant Sharma removed both Bell and Cook in a burst of two wickets for no runs in seven balls. At lunch, India were 267 for seven, a lead of 243. Three quick wickets early in the second session and England would have been on course to end their run of nine Tests without a win. But the first 10 overs after lunch saw Ravindra Jadeja and seamer Bhuvneswhwar Kumar score 66 runs.
But it seems the spat with James Anderson is helping the Indian team as well as Ravindra Jadeja who made a dashing 68 while tailender Kumar was last man out for 52, his third fifty in four innings this series after his Test-best six for 82 in England’s first innings. Kumar joins two of cricket’s greatest all-rounders in Ian Botham (England) and Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) as only the third player to have both scored a fifty and taken five wickets in successive Tests.
During the 2006 triumph in England, India won the series 1-0 under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. During then, the famous ‘beangate’ scandal hogged the limelight and much to the delight of the Indians, it seemed to have boosted their morale as they went marched on to a series win.
With only six wickets to claim, the sight is clear for MS Dhoni and his bowlers. When Team India comes out on day five on the second Test at Lord’s, history will be beckoning with a first win at the ‘home of cricket’ since 1986.
