Clueless batting, ice-cool catching

All suggestions that England's frailties against spin have been exaggerated were exposed by a calamitous batting display against Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla. It is difficult to decide which shot was the most awful. Eoin Morgan, bowled when he tried to cut a quicker one, felt like déjà vu; Jonny Bairstow's slog at Chawla when he misread a googly; Jos Buttler's back away… but as unfair as it seems to plump for the top-scorer, Craig Kieswetter's guide off Chawla's leg-break to slip takes some beating.

MS Dhoni's media briefing about the possible make-up of India's side turned out to be entirely false. Although he did not state it explicitly, any sensible interpretation was that India were leaning towards playing Zaheer Khan in a four-strong attack. The upshot was that Zaheer was omitted from a five-strong attack. Make of that what you will.

Harbhajan Singh last played for India at Trent Bridge in July last year. His rehabilitation since has even included a spell with Essex in the County Championship - and few Indian players in demand are given the licence to do that. His analysis of 4 for 12 was quite a return. England's deficiencies have to be taken into account but as the pitches wear it is possible that he and R Ashwin could become the combination India need.

Alex Hales went down on the scorecard as the catcher of Dhoni at deep midwicket, but it was merely the finishing touch to an ice-cool piece of athleticism from Buttler, who caught a skier at long-on and, realising he was heading over the boundary, coolly tossed the ball into the air for Hales to jog up and complete the catch. It was Buttler's nonchalance under pressure that made it so exceptional.

Even in the frantic world of Twenty20, there is still time for humour. When Stuart Broad rushed down the pitch to prevent Dhoni from taking a leg-bye, he found that the ball was lodged in Dhoni's pad. It was a dead ball, but Broad was acting on instinct not the MCC Laws. Quick as a flash he grabbed the ball from Dhoni's pad and swung round to try to throw out Rohit Sharma at the non-striker's end, but missed. Cue much laughter all round at the absurdity of it all.