Saturday 20 August 2011

England turn screw against India

England gained an even tighter grip on the fourth Test against India by building a massive first innings total and ripping though the Indian top order.

Before rain stopped play at the lunch interval, Ian Bell took his score to a personal best in Test cricket of 235 as England batted forcibly to extend their first innings total to 591-6.

The rain delay meant that 35 overs would be lost from the day which left Andrew Strauss having to declare with a lower total than he would have liked. However the decision was proved correct as the England bowlers removed Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman in the first 4 overs.

It was then time for Graeme Swann to finally make an impact on the Test series. He removed Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina and nightwatchman Ishant Sharma as India collapsed again, not for the first time in this series, to 103-5. Rahul Dravid managed to keep the scoreboard ticking despite wickets tumbling around him as he finished the day 57 not out.

Saturday's play summed up the series, with England finding scoring easier than ever, and then backing up this display with an inspiring display of seam and pace bowling.

England will be hoping to win the fourth Test and the series on day 4 by taking the 5 first innings wickets needed, making India follow on and then looking to rip through them again.


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