India146;s two-man army

Dravid and Gambhir8217;s 314-run stand could prove decisive as hosts8217; first innings folds up at 453

It8217;s a pity that Saturday8217;s play, swinging as much through the course of the day as the second new ball under misty morning conditions, ended in such a shame. At a time when the sun shone the brightest than at any other point on the second day, play had already been terminated nine overs before the 108-over target 8212; making a mockery of the discretion umpires used to begin play this morning to make up for Friday8217;s lost time.

As the Indian innings folded up just past 4.30 pm, England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss dashed back to the dressing room to pad up in the 10-minute changeover. Before they took guard though, the umpires 8212; Asad Rauf and Daryl Harper 8212; checked their meters and offered them the light, which they gleefully accepted. But even before the Indian team crossed the boundary ropes, the clouds cleared and perfect conditions prevailed. However, under ICC regulations, batsmen cannot be called back if they8217;ve been offered the light after cut-off time 8212; 4.30 pm in this case 8212; thus bringing the day8217;s proceedings to a premature, and slightly farcical, end.

What that did was prevent an intriguing passage of play after England had done well to bowl India out for 453 8212; a batting collapse in the second half of the day8217;s proceedings further reiterating the value of Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir8217;s 314-run second-wicket partnership. In the context of India8217;s eventual total, it was priceless.

They kept Kevin Pietersen8217;s attack out for the entire first session, and with the early pressure having eased, looked to up the tempo. Dravid, who had scored 65 off 205 deliveries on Day One, got to his first century in 19 innings off 261 deliveries with 13 boundaries. Gambhir himself survived the England bowlers8217; initial burst and pushed forward from his overnight 106 to 167 by the time the first session ended, going past the 1000-run mark for this calendar year the fourth Indian this year, as confidence overtook caution at the crease.

The collapse

Batting in the middle never looked easier, even under overcast conditions, and the English bowling was looking increasingly ragged. But just as the spectators started getting impatient for the big shots, Gambhir holed out to Cook at point for 179 to give off-spinner Graeme Swann his first wicket in the match.

The off-spinner then had Dravid caught at mid-off by Monty Panesar, the batsman mistiming an attempted over-the-top hit. His return to form fetched him 136 in a dignified 471-minute stay at the pitch.

Sachin Tendulkar didn8217;t last long, neither did VVS Laxman 8212; who fell for a 24-ball duck 8212; as India lost four wickets for 19 runs in 12 overs. To make matters worse, both MS Dhoni and Yuvraj batted uncharacteristically slow as the hosts garnered just 50 runs in an entire session.

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Flintoff should have had Yuvraj early on but Cook dropped a sitter at gully before Panesar redeemed himself after a poor bowling effort. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra added crucial runs at the bottom, but it will be their performance with the ball that will count.