Lan Bell tolls for India
NOTTINGHAM, England: Ian Bell’s maiden Test hundred against India batted England into a strong position before he was given a sporting reprieve after seemingly throwing his wicket away on Sunday.
After a chaotic climax to the second sesssion of the third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, and some tea interval discussions, Bell was 137 not out in an England second innings total of 254 for three — a lead of 187 runs.
Bell, to the last ball before tea, was run out when, having completed three runs with Eoin Morgan following a misfield by Praveen Kumar, he sprinted off the field believing the umpires had called ‘time’.
In fact the ball was still ‘live’ and, after calling in the third umpire to determine which batsman had been dimissed, the on-field officials gave a stunned Bell out.
England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss went to the visitors’ dressing room at tea to ask India, whose coach is ex-England supremo Duncan Fletcher, if they wanted the appeal to stand.
And minutes later India withdrew their appeal.
On-field umpires Marais Erasmus of South Africa and Pakistan’s Asad Rauf emerged after tea to boos from spectators, unaware the decision had been reversed, as did India before the jeers turned to cheers when Bell came out to resume his innings.
Bell had shared a third-wicket stand of 162 with Kevin Pietersen before Shanthakumaran Sreesanth terminated what threatened to be a match-winning partnership as England looked to go 2-0 up in the four-Test series.
Bell, 84 not out at lunch and scoring briskly, went to 98 with a fluent cover-driven four off medium-pacer Kumar.
Then a leg-glanced two off Sreesanth saw the 29-year-old Bell, batting at number three because of the shoulder injury suffered by Warwickshire colleague Jonathan Trott on Saturday, to his 15th hundred in 67 Tests and fourth this year off 129 balls with 17 fours.
Pietersen, who’d taken 52 balls for his first boundary, struck three fours in one over off seamer Ishant Sharma.
His fifty came in 98 balls with six boundaries before a loose drive off Sreesanth saw him edge to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 63.
England resumed on 24 for one, still 43 runs behind despite Stuart Broad taking a hat-trick Saturday on his way to Test-best figures of six for 46 on his Nottinghamshire home ground.
India’s first innings of 288 also saw Rahul Dravid make 117 — his 34th Test century and second in as many matches after his 103 not out during England’s 196-run first Test win at Lord’s.
Strauss was six not out and Bell nine not out as England, who will replace India at the top of the ICC’s Test Championship table if they win this series 2-0 or better, set about erasing the deficit in positive fashion.
But a partnership of 51 ended when Strauss was induced into pushing outside off-stump by Sreesanth and edged to Dhoni.
Strauss’s exit for 16 left his side 57 for two and, worryingly for England it was the skipper’s latest low return in a season where his best Test score remains the 32 he made against India at Lord’s.
Score board
India won toss
England 1st Innings 221 all-out (S Broad 64; P Kumar 3-45, I Sharma 3-66, S Sreesanth 3-77)
India 1st innings 288 all-out (R Dravid 117; S Broad 6-46)
England 2nd innings
*A J Strauss c Dhoni b Sreesanth 16
A N Cook c Yuvraj b Sharma 5
I R Bell not out 138
K P Pietersen c Dhoni b Sreesanth 63
E J G Morgan not out 35
Extras (b 9, lb 1, w 1, nb 1) 12
Total (3 wickets; 67.5 overs) 269
To bat: I J L Trott, †M J Prior, T T Bresnan, S C J Broad, G P Swann, J M Anderson
Fall: 1-6, 2-57, 3-219
Bowling: Kumar 21-4-66-0 (1w); Sharma 19-3-76-1; Sreesanth 14.5-4-54-2 (1nb); Yuvraj 3-0-12-0; Harbhajan 7-1-36-0; Raina 3-0-15-0
Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and M Erasmus (South Africa). TV umpire: BF Bowden (New Zealand). Match referee: R S Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
After a chaotic climax to the second sesssion of the third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, and some tea interval discussions, Bell was 137 not out in an England second innings total of 254 for three — a lead of 187 runs.
Bell, to the last ball before tea, was run out when, having completed three runs with Eoin Morgan following a misfield by Praveen Kumar, he sprinted off the field believing the umpires had called ‘time’.
In fact the ball was still ‘live’ and, after calling in the third umpire to determine which batsman had been dimissed, the on-field officials gave a stunned Bell out.
England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss went to the visitors’ dressing room at tea to ask India, whose coach is ex-England supremo Duncan Fletcher, if they wanted the appeal to stand.
And minutes later India withdrew their appeal.
On-field umpires Marais Erasmus of South Africa and Pakistan’s Asad Rauf emerged after tea to boos from spectators, unaware the decision had been reversed, as did India before the jeers turned to cheers when Bell came out to resume his innings.
Bell had shared a third-wicket stand of 162 with Kevin Pietersen before Shanthakumaran Sreesanth terminated what threatened to be a match-winning partnership as England looked to go 2-0 up in the four-Test series.
Bell, 84 not out at lunch and scoring briskly, went to 98 with a fluent cover-driven four off medium-pacer Kumar.
Then a leg-glanced two off Sreesanth saw the 29-year-old Bell, batting at number three because of the shoulder injury suffered by Warwickshire colleague Jonathan Trott on Saturday, to his 15th hundred in 67 Tests and fourth this year off 129 balls with 17 fours.
Pietersen, who’d taken 52 balls for his first boundary, struck three fours in one over off seamer Ishant Sharma.
His fifty came in 98 balls with six boundaries before a loose drive off Sreesanth saw him edge to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for 63.
England resumed on 24 for one, still 43 runs behind despite Stuart Broad taking a hat-trick Saturday on his way to Test-best figures of six for 46 on his Nottinghamshire home ground.
India’s first innings of 288 also saw Rahul Dravid make 117 — his 34th Test century and second in as many matches after his 103 not out during England’s 196-run first Test win at Lord’s.
Strauss was six not out and Bell nine not out as England, who will replace India at the top of the ICC’s Test Championship table if they win this series 2-0 or better, set about erasing the deficit in positive fashion.
But a partnership of 51 ended when Strauss was induced into pushing outside off-stump by Sreesanth and edged to Dhoni.
Strauss’s exit for 16 left his side 57 for two and, worryingly for England it was the skipper’s latest low return in a season where his best Test score remains the 32 he made against India at Lord’s.
Score board
India won toss
England 1st Innings 221 all-out (S Broad 64; P Kumar 3-45, I Sharma 3-66, S Sreesanth 3-77)
India 1st innings 288 all-out (R Dravid 117; S Broad 6-46)
England 2nd innings
*A J Strauss c Dhoni b Sreesanth 16
A N Cook c Yuvraj b Sharma 5
I R Bell not out 138
K P Pietersen c Dhoni b Sreesanth 63
E J G Morgan not out 35
Extras (b 9, lb 1, w 1, nb 1) 12
Total (3 wickets; 67.5 overs) 269
To bat: I J L Trott, †M J Prior, T T Bresnan, S C J Broad, G P Swann, J M Anderson
Fall: 1-6, 2-57, 3-219
Bowling: Kumar 21-4-66-0 (1w); Sharma 19-3-76-1; Sreesanth 14.5-4-54-2 (1nb); Yuvraj 3-0-12-0; Harbhajan 7-1-36-0; Raina 3-0-15-0
Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and M Erasmus (South Africa). TV umpire: BF Bowden (New Zealand). Match referee: R S Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
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