England had 99 problems then captain Cook struck! Dhoni just misses out on century as stunning run out helps tourists maintain slender advantage
By
David Clough, Press Association
PUBLISHED:
11:14 GMT, 15 December 2012
|
UPDATED:
15:07 GMT, 15 December 2012
A last hour featuring four wickets helped England avoid an unwanted shut-out on day three of a finely-balanced final Test in Nagpur.
The tourists had toiled for 75 wicketless overs as India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and centurion Virat Kohli closed them down with some ease, but both had gone by the time stumps was called, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla, giving England a greater belief that they can now secure at least the draw they need to win the series.
That landscape switch came after Dhoni (99) and Kohli (103) had taken it upon themselves to radically alter the equation themselves.
The fifth-wicket pair resumed on a
highly-vulnerable 87, yet by stumps their stand of 198 had underpinned
India's 297 for eight in reply to 330 all out.
England simply got nowhere for all but
the final hour of the day, on a dead pitch which has proved an aid to
stagnant cricket from the outset.
Until the first ball after evening
drinks, their bowlers – last previously successful nine overs before the
close yesterday – appeared destined to draw a blank for the entire day,
for the first time since Australia's Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh
tormented the home attack at Trent Bridge 23 years ago.
Respite came at last when Graeme Swann
had Kohli lbw pushing forward in defence – and among four late wickets
for only 28 runs, Dhoni was run out by a direct hit from Cook at mid-off
as he tried to scamper his 100th run off Anderson (four for 68) in the
penultimate over before stumps.
Eyes on the prize: A brilliant late run out from Alastair Cook helped England maintain an advantage
Top partnership: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli were in sensational form
Dhoni and Kohli were constrained, as were England's batsmen and India's top order before them, by the extreme conditions.
A perilous situation added to their
dilemma too; yet they dug in, and then branched out, faultless
application giving way to increasing fluency as India battled back into
contention.
Gradually, without compromising risk
avoidance, they pushed the run rate above two-an-over as England tired
in their thankless task to try to induce a mistake.
Dhoni, without a Test century for more
than a year, raised eyebrows when he promoted himself to number six
last night above debutant all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Tough: Graeme Swann and England's bowlers had to contend with a difficult pitch
Frontline batsman Kohli had a top-score of 20 in six previous innings in this series.
But both excelled themselves here in critical circumstances.
Kohli completed his 289-ball hundred with his 11th four, on the back foot past cover off Swann.
Soon afterwards, the off-spinner finally got his revenge, as India nonetheless edged towards parity.
It had taken more than half an hour
for their first boundary off the middle this morning, a Kohli
cover-drive off Tim Bresnan to bring up three figures.
Before then, only Dhoni's edge past a vacant slip off James Anderson had counted four.
Anderson beat the bat or found the
edge a handful of times in his early spell, but there was nothing else
from pace or spin to raise England's hopes.
Each batsman passed his 50 with a four, Kohli's fourth driven off Monty Panesar and Dhoni's seventh square-cut off Bresnan.
They were rare shots in anger until after England took the second new ball.
The century stand arrived in 53 overs as India had to emphasise caution over adventure before they could dare to hope for more.
Runs eventually started to come more
freely, however – Dhoni hoisted Swann over long-on for a six, and took
toll of Bresnan in particular – and England's initial optimism turned to
frowns of frustration.
The nearest they came to a
breakthrough before tea were Bresnan's two lbw appeals, and a tough
one-handed return chance barely off the ground – all with Dhoni on 72 –
as the Yorkshireman's search continued for a first Test wicket since
August at Headingley.
By stumps, he was wicketless in his last 74.4 overs at the highest level.
England's collective drought was even longer, of course, until Kohli succumbed.
Anderson then also had Jadeja lbw from
round the wicket. and Swann bowled Piyush when he found sharp turn with
the last ball of the day.
It had seemed near inconceivable at start of play that India could somehow negotiate their way towards a series-levelling win.
Whether or not that is possible will
depend on how long it takes England to take their last two wickets, and
how many India can score at the same time.
Two quick wickets and a day at the
crease would put England in firm charge, but an Indian slog in the
morning and poor application from the tourists could see it swing the
other way.
We are
unable to carry live pictures from the fourth Test in Nagpur due to a
dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and
international news organisations.
The
BCCI has refused access to Test venues to established picture agencies
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