Ian Bell has just put down a sitter at second slip. He shakes his head in disbelief. The batsman was Stuart Binny, who after surviving the scare, made sure to hit a half-century in his debut Test. It was a game which belonged to tails of both teams. As far as India are concerned, it was Murali Vijay's knock at the top and Binny's resilience towards the end which would have checked the right boxes. The sail wasn't a smooth one for debutant Binny. With the scoreboard reading a tricky 178/6, it required a special effort from the lower order to bail the side out of trouble and salvage a draw. One more wicket and it could have been Jadeja, with the tail, left with a mission impossible: to play out 40 overs. Binny, though, was up for a fight. The right-hander stood like a rock and dealt with short deliveries with disdain. The short stuff was no problem for the batsman, who cut and pulled them to the ropes with utmost ease. On the technical front, he looked solid. His ability to transfer the body weight on front and back-foot allowed him to make quick adjustments for the lengths English bowlers were bowling at him. Prior to his second outing with the bat, he bowled ten ineffective overs and got out for a single in the first innings. With backs to the wall, he took the opportunity and delivered. "The wicket didn't suit my style of bowling and I had to understand and accept that quickly. I was told that a Test match lasts five days so I will be required to play a part at some point, " Binny told BCCI.tv. Considered to be a one-day specialist, his innings at Trent Bridge will beef up his Test resume but still there's a long way to go for the Karnataka all-rounder. Come Lord's, MS Dhoni might be tempted to turn the spin way and strengthen the attack with the inclusion of Ashwin, who is more than a handy batsman. As far as the future is concerned, with Binny, Bhuvi and Ashwin proving their credentials with the bat, there is healthy competition for the usually ignored no.8 position. By: Saikat Ghosh He tweets @saikatghosh12
