The Jonty route to success
Cricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the fourth day in Mohali
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Classical leave
If England were to get anywhere near India's total
in the morning, much was needed from Stuart Broad, whose batting has been
nearly as impressive on occasion as his new-ball bursts. But when
Harbhajan Singh came round the wicket and flighted one in at the stumps,
Broad shouldered arms. Someone should have told him that Harbhajan hasn't
turned his off break properly in ages. This was a straight ball and it
took out off stump.
Reverse it one way, reverse the other
Zaheer Khan set up Graeme
Swann beautifully. Coming round the wicket, he tempted him with a delivery
that angled away from the bat before producing one that angled in, nipped
back off the seam and made a mess of the stumps. Far too good for No. 10.
The Jonty route to success
Ian Bell's contribution with the bat in
this series has been negligible but at least he can point to a moment of
incredible fielding. Virender Sehwag had given India's second innings a
typically brisk start when he decided to chance a single despite Broad,
the bowler, having got his hands to a straight drive. Bell was in like a
whippet from the covers and with ball in hand, he just flew into the
stumps. Sehwag just kept on walking.
Keep a man down
It's funny how often you see one bowler creating
the pressure and the other being rewarded with the wicket. Jimmy Anderson
kept Rahul Dravid scoreless for 18 balls and when he finally got a chance
to face Broad, the delivery cannoned into the stumps off the bottom off
the bat. First-innings century to second-innings zero.
Know who you're running with
Gautam Gambhir did little wrong on an
afternoon when he played the sheet-anchor role, but he did forget who he
was running with. VVS Laxman, with his dodgy knees, isn't built for quick
singles, and he had no chance once Andrew Flintoff was unerringly accurate
with his pick-up and throw.
This pie-chucker can bat
Kevin Pietersen stood at leg slip
while Yuvraj Singh was batting, and a couple of pleasantries must surely
have been exchanged by these best of friends. But if England expected
Yuvraj to be a soft touch, they were in for a rude shock. A wonderful
heave for six over midwicket off Monty Panesar was the highlight of his
40-ball 39, and in the space of an hour, the match had been left with only
two possible results - a draw or an Indian win.
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