India v England Second Test: Day three verdict - India in control despite KP ton

England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 21 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Ed Hawkins sums up the action on day which ended as it began...

The day started with India on top and it ended in the same way. In between England had hopes of a series-levelling win. That those hopes appeared to be dashed in the final ten minutes of play had much to do with the cloudy thinking that has characterised England's performance on this tour.

The early morning fog had cleared to reveal a beautiful sunny day. If only the same could be said of the atmosphere in the visiting dressing room. Unable to see that they needed to be positive, England allowed India back in the game. The hosts are [5.30] to take the series 2-0 with the draw [1.26] and England [46.00]

The decision to send James Anderson in as night watchman following the unfortunate dismissal of Kevin Pietersen, who became the first England captain to hit a century in India since Tony Greig 31 years ago, sent a signal to India. It said 'we're worried'.

England would have got away with it had the mist also not descended on Anderson. As night watchman his job was to protect Andrew Flintoff so tomorrow the all-rounder could push on when Matt Prior, the last recognised batsman to come, arrived at the wicket. Instead, Anderson decided to take single off the third ball of Amit Mishra's over, which exposed Flintoff, who, becalmed by the arrival of his fellow bowler, jabbed with uncertainty into the hand of Gautam Gambhir.

India couldn't believe their luck.

"They were dominating the game," said Harbhajan. "Flintoff and Pietersen were taking it away from us and we're really pleased to take those late wickets."

Quite. England, just as they did when batting too slowly on the third afternoon in Chennai, have given the home team some impetus. And at the odds, they are worth a dabble. The pitch is good and there is little turn but England still trail by a massive 171, a big enough deficit which could allow India to set a demoralising fourth-innings target.

It could all have been so different had England not lost their grip on the match in the space of 12 balls when Pietersen and Flintoff, who together put on 149, were dismissed. But there was form. In the space of seven balls earlier in the day England lost Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell as they were reduced to one for two. That was why the day finished as it had started.