Everything fell into place for Cricket Team India and England Cricket Team could not stage a recovery on Day 5 of firts test. India v England Test Match Special analysis and Highlights

Ahmedabad, India / NationalTurk Sports – As Indian National Cricket Team chased victory and England National Cricket Team battled for a mere draw, many magical moments came out throughout Day 5 of the first Test Cricket match between India and England.

Alastair Cook and Matt Prior begin their partnership on Day 5 of First Test between India vs England at 141*. All was looking hunky punky dory for the visiting England Cricket Team to start with the First Test. The only factor against them probably was their scoring rate. Meanwhile Zaheer Khan was toiling hard for India Cricket Pride and bowled probing lines and lengths to the pair. England skipper and wicket-keeper although seemed calm on the crease, scored only 16 runs in the nine-odd overs they were at the crease together on Day 5.

Oh it’s Pragyan Ojha again rising up for India Cricket Team

Many might have believed that R Ashwin would be the pick of the bowlers for India but Pragyan Ojha is rising up the ladder quite unnoticingly. Very classical in his approach, the left-armer was pedestrian on occasions but always in the hunt. He has looked leaner and meaner this time around and may be that has begun to pay further dividends.

On Day 5, Ojha had one ridiculous appeal against Matt Prior but apart from that was bowling way too full and straight to Cook. The Day 5 pitch had rough marks on the sides and was getting lower as was to be proven soon. Sachin Tendulkar had a chat with the youngster and it brought results pretty quickly. Ojha started landing the ball a tad bit shorter and one stopped on Prior, who was approaching a century. The caught and bowled was not without drama though as a bird flew past immediately and those seeing on television must have felt that the catch was dropped. No real drama though as Ojha straight away ran to hug none other than the ‘Master Blaster’. The plan had worked may be.

Nine runs later, Cook had just defended a ball off the backfoot and Dhoni removed the backward-point. Possibly a tactical decision but what was to follow made it a masterstroke. Cook stayed back again to a shortish Ojha delivery trying to work it away for a single and this time the ball never got up. India had got their man on 176 but effectively England were 35/7.

India sniff it and go for it while Englan pusses out / England vs India cricket First Test

By now, India were all over England with the crowd too backing the players in grand style. They had got the main men from the opposition and victory was within touching distance. Team India still had to contend with Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan. Broad, against India, had scored as much as VVS Laxman did on the England tour, 182 runs but at thrice the average. Tim Bresnan has scored 154 runs against India on that disastrous tour, more that what Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina had managed then.

Cut to Day 5 of Ahmedabad Test, India could not get complacent now. And thankfully, they did not. The young quickie, Umesh Yadav, was impressive in the first innings and continued that in the second one too. He got Broad out, again the ball stopping a bit and a simple return catch was the result.

Ex-England batsman & TMS summariser
“We can’t win a Test match on Cook and Prior batting well and Swann bowling well. We’re not going to get 11 top performances, but we need more than three.”

Swanny .. Go for it for India vs England

Bresnan was batting decently at one end and the ever enterprising Graeme Swann joined hands to thwart the Indian attack as much as possible. As is the case generally, Swann was not going to die wondering. He batted out of the crease, hit slog sweep, reverse sweeps, switch-hits and poof! He was a gonna! A reverse sweep had fetched him four off R Ashwin but a switch-hit went way too far. Ashwin followed the tried and tested formula. You miss, I hit!

the quest for a revenge starts fot Team Cricket India

Zaheer Khan, deservedly so, got the last wicket that of Tim Bresnan. His form will be crucial for India’s chances and if the second innings is anything to go by, all seems good.

There was not too much drama after this. Gautam Gambhir had obviously not made it for the match and so, Cheteshwar Pujara went in to open with Virender Sehwag as India chased 77 runs. Sehwag, in typical fashion, hit out as soon as he sensed the presence of spinners around. And very typically, he lived by the sword and died by it. Not that it mattered today but in larger context it could hurt him.

Twitter traffic about India vs England Cricket Firt Test after day 5 !

“Matty and I knew we would have to do the majority of the work. It had to be something very special – unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

England Cricket Team vice-captain Stuart Broad on Twitter

“If we’re to win the series out here, we need everyone to contribute.”
Cook admitted selecting only one specialist spinner in Graeme Swann – slow left-armer Monty Panesar was overlooked in favour of a three-man seam attack – was a “tough” decision.
But he insisted: “The crux of the matter is we got 190 in the first innings. On that wicket, as we proved in the second innings, runs were there to be had.”
“And before you listen to too many ex-playing ‘experts’ being negative, ask them if they ever won a Test series in India….#28years.

“On DRS [the decision review system, which is not in use in this series]. I hear 12 decisions would have been overturned in the Test. Potentially match-changing but India would have had 8 of them #itsneeded.”

Cook and Prior scored a combined 356 runs in the match, while the rest of England’s frontline top seven – Kevin Pietersen, Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Samit Patel – managed only 114.

England were undermined in both innings by the loss of wickets in quick succession; Ojha was on a hat-trick in the first and Umesh Yadav in the second.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: “What was important was to open up at least one end, so we could create a false sense of panic. We had to be calculating, and it paid off.”

 

Pujara on the other hand, was Alastair Cook says England’s second-innings fightback against India in the first Test will give his side confidence for the second Test.

England lost the first Test on the final day in Ahmedabad as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Buttkicking for goodness, go for the eyes boo go for the eyes

But captain Cook was encouraged by England’s improved second-innings 406, to which he contributed a defiant 176.

More on twitter about India v England Cricket First test match

“We fought hard. We can take a lot from the second half of that game with the batting,” he said.as confident and assured on the crease as one could be. He hit genuine shots and at one point looked to outpace Viru. May be the Najafgarh warrior needs to take a leaf out of his book.

And then the other youngster, who would have been itching to get out after the first innings disappointment, Virat Kohli, completed the formalities in style.

A special mention at the end to Pragyan Ojha and Stuart Broad. When Broad had got out to Yadav in the 2nd innings and tapped his bat smack in the middle of the pitch, Ojha was seen making animated gestures to the Englishman. In a way, it was nice to see some aggression from the Indian spinner. Remember, Broad was all over the Indians when India toured them in 2011. When the match got over and teams were engaging in the customary handshake though, Ojha and Broad ‘buried the hatchet’. India 1, England 0!

India vs England: Alastair Cook pleased by England fightback but India prevails All highlights Video

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“There was a lot of character showed by the lads. We need to work hard so when we go to Mumbai we can start again.”
The second Test of the four-match series begins on Friday where India can take an unassailable lead with a victory in Mumbai.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 191 in the first innings, England had Cook and Matt Prior to thank for staving off the threat of an innings defeat that seemed likely when they slipped to 199-5 in the second.

However, Prior’s dismissal for 91, half an hour into the fifth morning ended a sixth-wicket stand of 157. at the England vs India Cricket first test

It was the first of five wickets to fall for 50 runs as left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finished with 4-120 – and match figures of 9-165.
India overhauled a target of 77 for the loss of only Virender Sehwag to seal a convincing victory less than an hour after lunch.

“There was an outside chance,” Cook said of England’s prospects at the start of the day. “We were in a very tough situation and to get to the last day there is always a glimmer of hope.

The middle order didn’t score enough runs. They didn’t deliver in this game and they know that.”

Vice-captain Stuart Broad apologised for England’s defeat before criticising the analysis of some former players in the media.
The seamer, who took 0-97 from 24 overs in India’s first innings and did not bowl in the second, wrote on Twitter: “India outplayed us. A few positives but on the whole poor so sorry for that. Onwards and upwards.

And before you listen to too many ex playing ‘experts’ being negative, ask them if they ever won a Test series in India… #28years

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