Tailenders146; tale

A team of batting stars now appears to be dominated by the bowlers and a wicket-keeper. The lower-order batsmen don8217;t just pick catches and wickets, but also score runs.

A team of batting stars now appears to be dominated by the bowlers and a wicket-keeper. The lower-order batsmen don8217;t just pick catches and wickets, but also score runs. On Monday the new 8216;stars8217; helped India avoid the follow-on against a fiery England pace attack that had accounted for batting superstars like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

India lost Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh soon after play began on the third day. It was the lower middle-order 8212; of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble and S Sreesanth 8212; that helped the side progress from 142/5 to 279. India saved themselves from an utterly embarrassing situation against an injury-ridden second string team.

Anderson, Hoggard and Flintoff had sent the top five Indian batsmen packing in no time and, at one point, it appeared like India would fail to avoid the follow-on. That was when Dhoni and Pathan stepped in. While the latter wasn8217;t in the smashing form he8217;s has shown in recent times, Pathan helped his partner by sticking to the enormous task of staying in the middle. The left-hander consumed 82 balls for 26 runs as Dhoni went on contributing at the other end.

8216;8216;It was a good wicket to bat on, as much as it did help the fast bowlers and spinners,8217;8217; Dhoni explained at the end of the day, having scored a valuable 64 before running himself out to what was definitely a doubtful call.

The stirring moments of India8217;s batting for the day, though, came from Kumble and Sreesanth who stood in a 55-run stand for the eighth wicket, frustrating the England pace bowlers with some genuine strokeplay. Kumble, in particular, took 125 minutes and 70 balls to score his 30, with the help of three fours. Sreesanth was a little aggressive for his 29, hitting four boundaries. The short-pitched deliveries were ducked well, or played defensively on the backfoot.

Indian team8217;s support staff has been working efficiently in trying to help the tailenders get better with the bat. Results show in ODIs. Now, in Tests too, the tail has contributed. 8216;8216;They have been trying hard to improve. It has been a very conscious effort on their part. It has not been an overnight effort,8217;8217; said Ian Frazer, who8217;s been working for long with the Indian tail.

In the last five Test matches that India have played, Kumble has scored 21, 38, 58 and 32. On Monday, here, another valuable 30 showed just how consistent the leggie has been with the bat.

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England applied the simple tactic of keeping the ball a little outside the off-stump, whipping up considerable pace and concentrating on restricting the flow of runs. The wickets came automatically with the Indian batsmen lacking in confidence to negotiate the pace and bounce. Even as those experienced were exposed, Dhoni 038; Co. cut risk, restricting their natural aggression. When England began their second innings, Sreesanth came up with an impressive spell. He, along with Munaf Patel, had managed to send the openers back, both caught behind by Dhoni, before the bails were removed.