 Gambhir and Dravid enjoyed a long unbroken stand on day one |
It was inevitable that Rahul Dravid would rediscover his form some time, but it is a shame from England's perspective that he chose today to eke out his first half-century in eight innings.
When he walked out to bat on a cold, drab morning, England were celebrating the capture of Virender Sehwag's wicket for a third-ball duck. Despite having lost the toss, the conditions did assist the seam bowlers a little early on and with England having to win the game to level the series, they had made a good start. Dravid began tortuously, his footwork still lacking its usual rhythm and a nasty hack of a hook shot off James Anderson landed fortuitously in a big gap in the leg side.  | 606: DEBATE |
But by the time he reached 30, he was moving smoothly around the crease and his bat was coming down straight again. Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, continued his brilliant run in this form of the game. Building on his success in the series against Australia, he reached his fourth Test century from 214 balls. After their crushing disappointment at Chennai, it was interesting to see England in the field again, and employing very different field placements for the spinners. In Chennai, singles were picked up far too easily because England employed an in-out field, consisting of men around the bat and others on the boundary. There has clearly been a rethink because for both Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, the focus was more on building pressure through cutting off the flow of runs, rather than picking up catches close to the bat. | Swann clearly out-bowled Panesar whose confidence, not surprisingly, has taken a hit |
It very nearly worked for Swann, too, as Gambhir - frustrated at not being able to penetrate the field - aimed a wild slog at the off-spinner and was almost bowled. Swann clearly out-bowled Panesar whose confidence, not surprisingly, has taken a hit. His length in his first spell was variable but he did manage a couple of maidens to Dravid which made the smile return before the premature close. An Indian total of 400 will be tough for England. The pitch is already taking some spin, and the bounce is variable suggesting that batting at the end of the game will be awkward. Unfortunately, the elements are threatening to cut short the time available with further cloud and drizzle forecast over the weekend.
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