Live Test Match Blogging / Andrew Hughes / 31 July 2011 /

This game could not be more beautifully poised. England are 47 runs behind and two men down but may not need too much of a lead to put India under pressure. Andrew Hughes will be on the edge of his seat all day whilst highlighting the best betting opportunities.

CLOSE England 441-6
A draining, dramatic kind of a day, but it ends with England in an a nearly-impenetrable position. No rain forecast and Strauss may even end up declaring tomorrow. If you believe in miracles or perhaps, if you just believe in Sachin, you can back an Indian win at [13.0] and good luck to you. Thanks for being with me today, Richard O'Hagan will be with you for the next to days to bring you the climax to this absorbing Test.

18:10 England 415-6
The lead is approaching 350 now. Worth taking a look at the Top India 2nd Inns Bat market. 'Any Other Batsman' at [4.1] does include Dhoni and Yuvraj, but not a lot else and isn't value. I don't like Mukund at [6.0] in a pressure situation and surely it is asking too much of Dravid, possibly carrying a hand injury, to do it again at [3.85]. I was keen on Raina after Lord's but he worried me with his batting in the first innings here. So it's down to VVS or The Little Master. Tendulkar is going to come good at some point, so I'm sticking with him at [4.1] He might need to get a double hundred though if India are to win.

17:50 England 376-6
The lead has passed 300. The draw is ludicrously short at [7.4] No rain forecast for Monday or for Tuesday and only 14 more wickets to fall with 2 days and 10 overs to go.

WICKET Trott c Dravid b Kumar 2
Trott never really looked comfortable out there. The lead is 272. India are inching back into this, but they will have to bat well to get 300 here. I don't think they'll be able to chase much over 250 personally. Am I being unduly pessimistic about their chances? Have your say at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

WICKET Morgan c Dhoni b Kumar 70
Morgan's struggles against seam bowling continue. The new ball does the trick. Now then, the lead is 262. I think that could be enough, to be honest. Not enough to make me want to lump on England at [1.56] but enough to make England strong favourites. And here comes Trott! I'm not sure that a typical Trott innings is what is required here

WICKET Bell c Laxman b Yuvraj 159
Bell is out for the second time. Unless MS wants to recall him? No, he's definitely done his batting for the day. He was given 22 extra runs there. But we shouldn't forget that it was a glorious innings, wonderful to watch. India just waiting for the new ball and the game is drifting away from them

16:30 England 293-3
That whole episode seems to have taken the heat out of the game and India's bowling after tea has been pathetic. The lead is 226 and England are on the way to putting India out of it completely. You can get [9.4] about an Indian win, which is probably too high based on the match situation, but I'm not sure about their morale at the moment. They look a beaten team.

16:10 England 253-3
Well that is extraordinarily generous from the Indian team. They have rescinded their appeal and Bell can continue. I'm not sure that England would have done the same. Appalling behaviour from the crowd, booing the umpires and the Indians. Dhoni deserves a lot of credit for that, but the English crowd disgraced themselves.

16:05 England 254-4
Much debate at the moment, opinions flying in all directions. From where I was sitting, England have no complaints. Bell was dozy, he should have made sure it was 4 before walking off for tea. The only mitigating circumstance would be if he heard the umpire call tea. That seems unlikely. What do you think? Have your say on Runoutgate at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

WICKET Bell run out 137
Good grief! What a mix up! The England batsmen thought the last ball of the session had gone for 4 and tea had been called. In fact, the ball was not over the boundary, the Indians dislodged the bails and appealed. Unlucky for Bell, but careless too. A lead of 183 is not enough, they will want at least 250. One big effort by the Indian bowlers and this Test can still be theirs.

15:31 England 246-3
Mel has been in touch. 'Would England brave it and declare at 250 lead so that their bowlers get some 20 odd overs before day ends to get some quick evening wickets?' That would certainly be brave. But England are still scared of this Indian batting line up, with good reason. I reckon they'll bat for as long as they possibly can. What do you think Strauss should do? Have your say at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

15:27 England 237-3
Things have quietened down now. England ekeing out the runs whilst trying not to lose wickets and India bowling tight lines. The lead is 173. Another 30-40 and England are on top, another 70-80 and they are strong favourites.

WICKET Pietersen c Dhoni b Sreesanth 63
Vital breakthrough. The lead is 152. England have 7 wickets left, but both Trott and Swann are injured to varying degrees. The way this match has gone, I wouldn't be surprised to see another wicket or two immediately. The game is even at the moment so backing India at [3.6] is the sensible play here

14:35 England 191-2
Not sure I buy the argument that the pitch is getting flatter. There is still plenty of bounce out there and the ball is swinging. Harbhajan is getting little assistance, but then he's way off his best. England are still 100 runs short of the total they need to put India under severe pressure and so I can't be backing them at [1.64] The really adventurous play would be to back India in the series winner market at [8.0] but for that you've have to think that they would be both be able to win here and that they are the better team of the two. Can't really say that at the moment.

14:20 England 170-2
Ominous for India that KP is getting into his stride. That was a slightly better over from Harbhajan but they need far more from him. He has been virtually anonymous this series and must be close to getting the push. Leg spinner Amit Mishra would be a better bet against English batsmen I reckon.

14:00 England 149-2
Vaselinegate is so yesterday. Apparently Vaseline is not the thing to look out for, it's stickers on the edges of the bat. Stickergate it is. Obviously then, anyone with a sticker on the edge of his bat is a blatant cheat. Allegedly. How about leaving your bat in the freezer overnight? Get in touch with your scientific methods of fooling Hotspot at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

13:45 England 141-2
We're back. Sharma has just bowled a nasty over, getting some good lift. I think India's odds of [3.15] are too high. They can chase down anything under 200 and have a chance of getting 250, if their talented batsmen play to their potential.

LUNCH England 130-2
Comfortably England's session. They've turned a 67 run deficit into a 63 run lead and they still have 8 wickets left, although they could be 7, or at least 7.5, depending on Trott's fitness. Punters have taken a strong view and now see this as England's game. But I think there are more twists to come. I'm tempted by the [3.3] about an Indian win but only tempted at the moment. I'd need to see more from Harbhajan before taking that. Back in 40 minutes.

12:35 England 105-2
This is glorious strokemaking from Bell. England now [2.12] favourites, but I think that is a slight overreaction. Remember what happened yesterday to the Indian innings. This is a pitch where wickets can fall in a heap and England have two injured players in their line-up, plus an out of form Eoin Morgan.

12:15: England 83-2
Fifty for Ian Bell, lovely innings. At the other end KP has struggled to 5 off 18 balls. England's lead is 16 and these are crucial overs. Vuvraj is on. Will KP lose his wicket to the pie thrower once again? Get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

11:45 England 63-2
Quite why the draw is still as short as [9.0] is a mystery to me. Do you think there's an 11 per cent chance this will end in a draw? No, me neither. It should be [26.0] or more. With the draw overpriced, you can almost back both teams blindly and be sure of getting value

11:41 England 57-2
Sreesanth v Pietersen is a fascinating battle. Round one to Sreesanth, I'd say. And we're yet to see Ishant, who was a real handful last night. Bell is looking surprisingly good at the other end, too. This is a bonus for England. Too often he hasn't delivered when the game is at a crucial stage. Or am I being too harsh? Have your say at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk

WICKET Strauss c Dhoni b Sreesanth 16
That was a really loose shot from the England captain. Still 10 runs behind and now 2 down. The market swings dramatically the other way and India are now [1.85] favourites, which looks about right.

11:25 England 47-1
England have come out swinging, just as India did yesterday morning. Sensible tactics in the circumstances. The match odds market has swung heavily in England's favour and they are now the [2.16] favourites. Far too short. In fact, if this overreaction continues, I'd be tempted to back India, particularly if they hit [3.0] before England have drawn level

10:57 England 24-1
Vaselinegate has been raging overnight. I think we can say that V V S Laxman wasn't employing vaseline on his bat, because Stuart Broad confirmed this. But the bigger picture is that there is nothing in the rules to prevent it. So is it really cheating if you do use it? And in any case, does it work? Get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk and tell us what you think

10:45 England 24-1
The Top England 2nd Innings market is an interesting one. Jonathan Trott is a massive [10.0] but we aren't sure if he'll even be able to bat at the moment and if he does, he will surely be significantly hampered and batting low down the order where he's likely to run out of partners. Ian Bell [4.3] is not really the man for a crisis and the 'Any Other Batsman' option is considerably less tempting than in the first innings at [3.95]. Andrew Strauss [3.8] will be digging in and sooner or later a ball will have his name on it so, while I have a feeling that the Indians have worked KP out, he is worth risking at [4.3] because he is confident at the moment, he will go on the attack and he can score a fairly quick half-century, which may well be enough to win this particular race.

10:30 England 24-1
Good morning, welcome to another potentially dramatic day in a Test series that has already been richly entertaining. It's India's advantage, just, but the overnight news that Trott may be able to bat after all has caused England's match odds to shorten slightly to [2.62] And if you laid India at [1.86] yesterday and are waiting to back them to lock in a profit, it's probably a good idea to do that now at [1.93] I doubt England will be racing away this morning and even if they do manage a 200 lead today, those odds on an Indian win are unlikely to get much bigger.

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