A big ask, but not impossible

Until the day8217;s play begins tomorrow, this particular thought is bound to occupy Ganguly8217;s mind and, of course, millions of Indian fans, Team India need 243 more with seven wickets in hand after England set 380 for the visitors to chase in the second innings.

Given Kevin Pietersen8217;s century here in the morning, a blazing 134, it is impertinent to question whether the pitch will remain intact or not. For now, except for the banana swing that is making batsmen8217;s lives difficult, the pitch is genuinely a batting paradise. An important first step for India tomorrow would be to ensure that Dinesh Kaarthick keeps his wicket. With the 22-year-old reaching his half-century on the fourth day itself, a lot can be expected from the way he8217;s batting and Ganguly8217;s penchant to score here.

These are again plain expectations that will make the potential difference to the outcome of a positive result. Any loss of wicket in the first 10 overs of the day and India can kiss goodbye to their chances here.

To be fair to England the bowlers 8212; plain ordinary 8212; they simply kept to their basics. To have India tottering at 84/3 is an effort that has to be credited to their sheer enthusiasm and the hard work put at the nets.

On the last day, the Indians need to concentrate mainly on left-arm medium-pacer Ryan Sidebottom who has been enjoying the windy conditions here and the swing that8217;s been coming with it. He8217;s the only bowler who hasn8217;t got a wicket in India8217;s second innings yet 8212; Anderson, Tremlett and Panesar claiming one each 8212; but has looked the most dangerous of them all.

In India8217;s case, RP Singh remained the one who took England by surprise, his five-wicket haul being a classic mix of good bounce, line and swing. While initially, a lot depended on how Zaheer Khan, who almost took a hat-trick, Sreesanth and Anil Kumble, it was RP who did the most damage, scalping Vaughan, Pietersen, Collingwood and Bell.

His three-wicket burst had forced England on the back foot, 132 for the loss of five wickets, and just for that brief moment, with the sun shining bright, it seemed appropriate for Dravid to imagine that his team was still in with a chance. It was Pietersen and Prior who batted excellently to change the course of the match once again.

The South Africa-born Pietersen rose to the occasion with a dominating century, his ninth in Test matches, studded with 14 boundaries and one huge six, and was supported by wicket-keeper-batsman Prior at the other end. The two scored at more than four runs per over in a 119-run stand for the sixth wicket that helped England cross 250. Pietersen said it was his best century to date, though he has several such knocks.

What India do tomorrow will have to be a thoroughly planned effort before their batsmen walk in for this big last day Test. VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni haven8217;t padded up yet and their contributions can be vital. But Team India would both Ganguly and Kaarthick to carry on .

SCOREBOARD

England first Innings 298

India first Innings 201

England second Innings

Andrew Strauss c Tendulkar b Khan 18; Alastair Cook lbw b Khan 17; Michael Vaughan b Singh 30; Kevin Pietersen b Singh 134; Paul Collingwood c Laxman b Singh 4; Ian Bell b Singh 9; Matthew Prior c Dhoni b Khan 42; Chris Tremlett b Khan 0; Ryan Sidebottom c Dravid b Kumble 9; Monty Panesar lbw b Singh 3; James Anderson not out 4.

Extras: 9b, 1lb, 2w 12

Total: all out 282 in 78.3 overs.

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-43, 3-102, 4-114, 5-132, 6-251, 7-251, 8-266, 9-275.

Bowling: Zaheer Khan 28-6-79-4 1w, S Sreesanth16-3-62-0, Rudra Pratap Singh 16.3-3-59-5 1w, Anil Kumble,17-3-70-1, Sachin Tendulkar 1-0-2-0.

India second Innings

Dinesh Kaarthick not out 56, Wasim Jaffer c Pietersen b Anderson 8, Rahul Dravid lbw b Tremlett 9, Sachin Tendulkar lbw b Panesar 16, Sourav Ganguly not out 36

Extras: 8b, 3lb, 1nb 12

Total: for 3 wickets in 41 overs 137

Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-55, 3-84.

Bowling: Sidebottom 6-1-20-0, Anderson 12-3-36-1, Tremlett 10-1-29-1 1nb, Monty Panesar 13-2-41-1