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[Cricket]England's Tour to India; Next match: 18th February
Topic Started: Feb 11 2006, 04:48 PM (3,347 Views)
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Not doing too well are we?
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not very well at all

Day 3 of 3 versus B.P's XI

So it was the last day of our last warm up match before the test series. We were humiliated out there.

England: 158-9
B.P's XI: 58-2
B.P's XI win by 8 wickets


Maybe the Board President should pick the England team...

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"BBC Sport"
 
England's worries ahead of Wednesday's first Test against India increased after an eight-wicket hammering by an Indian Board President's XI in Baroda.

Nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard (42) made the top score as the tourists folded for 158 to pace bowler Munaf Patel, who took 5-32 for a match haul of 10-91.

Andrew Flintoff failed with the bat for the second match running, while Kevin Pietersen did not risk his sore back.

The hosts had few problems getting the 55 needed to seal England's misery.

With Marcus Trescothick flying home, and several injury and illness concerns, not to mention the lack of time in the middle enjoyed by senior batsmen, they will not go to Nagpur in the best shape.

Things did not look so bad in the morning when stand-in captain Trescothick (32) and Hoggard made steady progress to put on 64 before the left-hander's loose drive was beaten by an inswinging delivery from Shiv Paul.

But after Hoggard's defiant 108-ball stay ended when he holed out to long-on off Ramesh Powar, the rest of the batting fell apart.

Flintoff's poor run on tour - 20, 5, 1 were his previous scores - continued when he edged the impressive Patel behind and Bell (29) fell in similar fashion off Vikram Singh.

Geraint Jones was trapped leg before by one that kept low from off-spinner Powar and although Ian Blackwell and Liam Plunkett battled away before tea, the end came swifly after the break.

The duo had their stumps rearranged by Patel, who completed a fine match personally by cleaning up Monty Panesar first ball.

Hoggard swung one away from Wasim Jaffer for Andrew Strauss to pouch a straightforward slip catch and Panesar had Dheeraj Jadhav caught at leg-slip by substitute fielder Matt Prior.

But the hosts cruised to their target to leave England with plenty to work on in the next three days.


Ouch.

Scorecards

England Second Innings

Trescothick----32
Strauss----2
Hoggard----42
Bell----29
Flintoff----2
G Jones----12
Blackwell----11
Plunkett----15
Harmison----2
Panesar----0
Pietersen----Absent Injured

B.P's XI Second Innings

Jaffer----4
Gambhir----22 NOT OUT
Jadhav----18
Raina----6 NOT OUT

England Bowling Second Innings

Hoggard----1-10
Harmison----0-16
Panesar----1-20
Flintoff----0-2
Blackwell----0-8

We're screwed. We were screwed before this, India being one of the best sides in the world, but now we have very little chance of winning anything....

Trescothick goes home, Cook and Anderson called up

"BBC Sport"
 
England's Marcus Trescothick is set to miss Wednesday's first Test in India after flying home for personal reasons.
The injury-hit tourists have already called up Alastair Cook and James Anderson, and coach Duncan Fletcher said cover for Trescothick was needed.

"He is a world-class opener. To lose someone like that is a big blow to us. It's another hitch we have to overcome but opens the door for another player.

"Phone calls have been made to get in another batting replacement," he said.

Captain Michael Vaughan says he will open with Andrew Strauss in Nagpur - if the problem with his right knee eases sufficiently.

Vaughan missed the final warm-up game against the Indian Board President's XI and will give himself 48 hours before deciding on his availability.

"I had an injection to ease the trouble on Wednesday, tried the knee in the nets yesterday and still felt it," he explained.

"I'll take part in full practice on Monday and will have more of an idea after that.

"Hopefully I can get it right and give myself a chance. The injections have worked for me in the past."

If Vaughan is ruled out, key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will captain the side, with promising Essex batsman Cook in line to make his debut as Strauss' partner.

The 21-year-old was drafted in alongside Lancashire seamer Anderson from the England A squad in the Caribbean after injury and illness ravaged the squad.

All-rounder Paul Collingwood and batsman Kevin Pietersen are suffering from sore backs, while seamer Simon Jones has a stomach bug.

But Fletcher is optimistic about the trio saying: "Simon had three really good spells in the nets to try to simulate what he might get out in the middle.

"Collingwood and Pietersen have responded very well and if you had to pick a side for tomorrow they'd be available."

Meanwhile, England have refused to expand on Trescothick's sudden departure, other than saying it is for "a family reason".

The Somerset left-hander considered coming back early from Pakistan in November when his father-in-law was seriously injured falling off a ladder.


Here we go again..... Next match is 1st March- 5th March against India, who's squad is:

Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Virender Sehwag
Wasim Jaffer
Sachin Tendulkar
VVS Laxman
Mohammad Kaif
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Dhoni (WK)
Irfan Pathan
Sri Sreesanth
Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Rudra Pratap Singh
Vikram Singh
Piyush Chawla
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Flintoff captain for England... Owais Shah called up for England (I have his autograph :) )
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Jones and Vaughn are now both in England due to injuries <_<
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Do you think Cook or Shah have a chance of playing, and Panesar?
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cook: definitely

shah: possibly

panesar: lets hope so
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I hope Cook and Panesar get to play.

Never really seen Shah play, so I couldn't comment there
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Day 1 of 5 versus India (First Test)

England: 246-7

Here we go again then. We're crocked. Freddie's captain and we've given a debut to a Sikh (which, I hasten to add, is a good thing).

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"BBC Sport"
 
England squandered the chance to seize the initiative after winning the toss in Nagpur as they stumbled to 246-7 at the end of the first day's play.

Debutant Alastair Cook (60) and Paul Collingwood each hit half-centuries but a number of promising partnerships were nipped in the bud by India.

The most valuable stand was one worth 67 between Collingwood (53 not out) and stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff (43).

Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan took three wickets for the hosts.

Essex 21-year-old Cook, one of three new faces for England, was drafted from the A tour of West Indies at short notice.

The other debutants were spinners Ian Blackwell, listed to bat at eight, and a second slow left-armer, Monty Panesar - the first Sikh to represent England.

Early on, England were impressive.

Flintoff, taking over as captain in the absence of Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, looked visibly relieved to have called correctly after the toss.

Openers Cook and Andrew Strauss were into their stride quickly.

Essex 21-year-old Cook latched onto a long-hop from debutant Sri Sreesanth to get off the mark with a pulled four. Then Strauss stroked three fours off Pathan's second over.

With a flat wicket and a fast outfield at their disposal, the two left-handers quickly grew in confidence.

Strauss threaded the ball with precision through the off-side to pick up regular runs while Cook also played some fine cover drives.

India broke through just after the hour mark with the total on 56 when Sreesanth, with the seventh ball of his second spell, ended Strauss' innings on 28.

The Middlesex man drove at a wide ball which flew at pace towards VVS Laxman's throat. The fielder reacted swiftly to take the catch.

India skipper Rahul Dravid soon opted for spin at both ends, with veteran Anil Kumble joining the attack.

Both Cook and Ian Bell struggled to read the degree of turn and bounce and it was not entirely surprising when Harbhajan picked up a wicket just before lunch, Bell falling for just nine.

A delivery that went straight on as the batsman played for a non-existent off-break was edged to Dravid at slip.

The skipper dived to his left and failed to take it cleanly at the first attempt, but the wicket went down to give India a massive lift at such a crucial stage.

Kevin Pietersen, four balls after being dropped, was the next man to go as an indiscrete pull shot against Sreesanth crashed into the stumps.

The runs rather dried up for Cook at this point and when Pathan was brought back into the attack, he achieved the next breakthrough.

A ball that shaped to angle through the gate brushed the inside edge of Cook's bat and India were firmly in charge at 136-4.

After tea however, Flintoff and Collingwood, the first batsmen prepared to play lofted shots against the spinners, looked poised for a meaningful partnership.

But it ended when a Kumble delivery slanting into Flintoff resulted in a positive lbw verdict from umpire Ian Howells.

Replays suggested the ball might have missed leg stump.

Geraint Jones, who hit two confident fours off Sachin Tendulkar, fell to an even more dubious lbw decision.

Pathan, bowling with the second new ball, got one to straighten a little but although it may have flicked pad before bat, it seemed to be missing off stump.

As the shadows lengthened, Collingwood hit the day's only six by mowing Kumble over mid-wicket.

But India went into the dressing-room by far the happier of the two sides - particularly after Blackwell had inside-edged Pathan onto his stumps via a flat-footed drive.


We tossed away the initiative.

Scorecards

England First Innings

Strauss----28
Cook----60
Bell----9
Pietersen----15
Collingwood----53
Flintoff----43
G Jones----14
Blackwell----4
Hoggard----0
Extras----20 (12 nb, 1w, 1b, 6lb)
Yet to Bat: Harmison, Panesar

India Bowling First Innings

Pathan----3-52
Sreesanth----2-56
Harbhajan Singh----1-59
Kumble----1-61
Tendulkar----0-11

Next day tomorrow. (Duh)
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Looking forward to seeing Panesar bowl tomorrow.

I disagree with the captaincy going to Flintoff. He has only captained Lancashire a few times but did captain England at U19 level. Andrew Strauss is (or was) the Middlesex captain so I think he should have a better chance of being captain or Shaun Udal of Hampshire, who led Hants to C&G Trophy success. If he was in the team. But if England win then I totally agree with Flintoff being captain!
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Day 2 of 5 versus India (First Test)

England: 393 All Out
India: 136-1


So Collingwood got a ton and Panesar batted well. The only way is (supposedly) up.

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"BBC Sport"
 
England's Paul Collingwood hit a fine maiden Test century before Indian pair Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid put the hosts back on top in Nagpur.

Jaffer (73 not out) and Dravid (40, also unbeaten) led the hosts to a solid score of 136-1 at stumps on day two after England had finished on 393.

Earlier, Collingwood, who started the day on 53 in a score of 246-7, had rescued a dire situation for England.

He was ably assisted by England's tail during the first half of the day.

The first surprise on Thursday morning came when home captain Dravid elected to use the old ball for the first half hour.

As soon as Sri Sreesanth took the new cherry India had a breakthrough as Matthew Hoggard, who had made 11, edged an excellent leg-cutter to the wicket-keeper.

Fortune soon favoured the batsmen, however, as Steve Harmison opened his account with a flurry of boundaries.

Early in his innings, he stroked three fours off consecutive deliveries bowled by Sreesanth.

Two were delightful cover-drives, the third a pull shot out of the Ricky Ponting batting manual.

Dravid reverted to two spinners but after a slight lull in the scoring, Collingwood lofted an out-of-sorts Harbhajan Singh for a huge straight six.

Harmison played the same shot in Harbhajan's following over, collecting four, but the same bowler finally had his revenge two balls later when Harmison was stumped by yards after a stirring 39 off 42 balls.

Collingwood was still 21 runs away from his century when England's last man Monty Panesar arrived at the crease just before lunch.

But he proceeded to farm the bowling brilliantly, often chipping Harbhajan for two runs over mid-wicket to retain the strike as much as possible.

His only let-off was just before the interval when the recalled Sreesanth, easily India's best bowler in the match to date, had him driving between the wicket-keeper and slip at catchable height.

After lunch Collingwood hit his fourth and final six when smashing Irfan Pathan back over his head.

His 66-run partnership with Panesar finally ended when Sreesanth had England's number 11 lbw for nine with a yorker to finish with 4-95 on debut.

In all, Harmison and Panesar had helped Collingwood add a remarkable 126 for the last two wickets.

The upbeat tourists only had to wait until the third over of India's reply for their first wicket as a flat-footed Virender Sehwag drove a slower ball from Hoggard to an elated Kevin Pietersen at cover.

And just before tea, England were on the attack as Panesar's first two overs had Jaffer tied up in knots. One lbw appeal might well have been upheld on another day.

The tension lifted in the final session, however, as the two right-handers gradually worked out a way to score boundaries off Panesar.

Jaffer indulged in a memorable late cut and added a paddle-sweep to bring up his fifty.

Though Flintoff bowled a good spell late in the day, he eventually tired and once the other spinner Ian Blackwell replaced Panesar it was damage limitation time.

Dravid, targeting a fourth Test ton against England in successive innings, gave the Somerset captain a tough time with some perfectly-timed drives on both sides of the wicket.

His stand with Jaffer was worth 125 when the batsmen accepted an offer of bad light two overs early.


Scorecards

England First Innings

Strauss----28
Cook----60
Bell----9
Pietersen----15
Collingwood----134 NOT OUT
Flintoff----43
G Jones----14
Blackwell----4
Hoggard----11
Harmison----39
Panesar----9
Extras----27 (12 nb, 1w, 7b, 7lb)

India Bowling First Innings

Pathan----3-92
Sreesanth----4-95
Harbhajan Singh----2-93
Kumble----1-88
Tendulkar----0-11

India First Innings

Jaffer----73 NOT OUT
Sehwag----2
Dravid----40 NOT OUT
Extras----21 (1nb, 5w, 13b, 1lb)
Yet to Bat: Tendulkar, Laxman, Dhoni, Kaif, Pathan, Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth

England Bowling First Innings

Hoggard----1-23
Harmison----0-26
Flintoff----0-25
Panesar----0-30
Blackwell----0-18

Yep. I know. We're goin' down.

Vaughan Crocked- To Miss Rest of Tour

"BBC Sport"
 
England captain Michael Vaughan looks certain to miss the remainder of the current tour to India.
He returned home earlier this week because of a recurrence of a right knee injury and was given an injection during a visit to a Sheffield hospital.

Vaughan has been told to rest for two weeks, putting him out of the rest of the Test series against India.

And an ECB statement said it was "not anticipated" he would be fit to play in the one-day games which follow.

Andrew Flintoff has taken over as skipper in India, with regular vice-captain Marcus Trescothick having also flown home for family reasons.

Vaughan and team-mate Simon Jones, who twisted his left knee while practising for the first Test in Nagpur, were both seen by knee specialist Derk Bickerstaff on Wednesday.

Bickerstaff has worked with both players before, having performed surgery on Vaughan's knee last year and helped Jones after a horrendous right knee injury in Australia in 2002.

Of Vaughan's latest injury, Bickerstaff said: "It is always the type of problem which can flare up. It is disappointing it has flared up again but some of the features are a bit different.

"Unfortunately, it is an area which does not heal itself so it is more of an issue of managing the problem."

Following his enforced rest, Vaughan will begin another period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the Yorkshire CCC physio.

Bickerstaff, meanwhile, believes Jones's problem is minor in comparison to his last knee injury.

"The potential is that he has a simple cartilage tear in his knee," he added.

"The injury he had before was a severe injury and he did well to get back to the level he is now playing.

"If there is no good evidence of a tear we would treat him conservatively and could be looking at a return in six or eight weeks."

A formal statement about Jones's condition is expected in due course.


Next day tomorrow.
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Day 3 of 5 versus India (First Test)

India: 322-9

So it was day 3 today. We did OK. Hoggard bowled his heart out. And a certain someone got Tendulkar out, claiming him as his first test wicket.

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"BBC Sport"
 
Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar took vital late wickets on day three as England revived their hopes of winning the first Test against India in Nagpur.

A 128-run stand between Mohammad Kaif and Anil Kumble allowed India to recover from 190-7 but both fell just before stumps to leave India 322-9.

Matthew Hoggard (5-57) was in superb form during the first session after overnight rain enlivened the pitch.

With England still leading by 71 runs, they are the team with the advantage.

Both Kaif and Kumble profited from dropped catches early in their innings which, if taken, would have left the hosts in a very awkward situation.

Having made just 18, Kaif - who ultimately fell nine runs short of a maiden Test century - drove Andrew Flintoff back to the bowler.

But the skipper could not quite complete a tough chance falling away to his right.

Geraint Jones' error was a bad one, though, spilling a regulation outside edge when Kumble had scored just nine.

Harmison was the bowler left gritting his teeth and the batsman went on to score 58 - his best effort in 14 Tests against England.

Hoggard had grabbed the morning headlines, when a bit of dampness and mist allowed him to move the ball about.

India captain Rahul Dravid, with centuries in his three previous Test innings against England, was unable to add to his overnight 40 when India began on 136-1.

Hoggard dismissed him in the third over of the morning. His appeal for lbw was upheld by Aleem Dar although replays suggested the ball may have missed leg-stump.

There was no doubt about the next wicket, though, when the Yorkshire man struck again in his following over as Jaffer (81) drove straight to Flintoff at second slip.

The very next ball, Hoggard struck again, with VVS Laxman unable to get his bat to a another inswinger which struck his pad in front of middle-and-off.

Again, though the decision looked straightforward to the naked eye, exhaustive TV analysis suggested an inside edge which may or may not have occurred after the ball had thudded into the pads.

Either way, the onus was on Sachin Tendulkar and Kaif to rescue a worrying situation.

But the "Little Master" had only reached 16 when debutant Panesar claimed a famous victim for his maiden Test wicket, by persuading Dar to raise his finger once again.

This time, Tendulkar played with his bat behind his pad, and replays showed the decision was a good one.

Mahendra Dhoni, regarded as a fine hitter, was in no mood to play defensively and when he drove loosely at Flintoff a thin edge behind put India in dire straits.

Soon after lunch, when Irfan Pathan edged Hoggard into the slips, the English lions were rampant.

But Kaif and Kumble had other ideas. Both men started patiently at first before Kaif drove Hoggard for two fine boundaries just before tea and despatched Ian Blackwell for two more just after the interval.

Kumble hit two delicate late cuts off Panesar for four before going through a more fortuitous phase against the seamers when edges narrowly evaded the fielders and the stumps.

With the heat taking its toll on England's bowlers, Harmison finally persuaded Kumble to nick to first slip, where Alastair Cook took his first catch at this level.

And in the next over, a ripper from Panesar, pitching on middle and taking the top of off-stump, ended Kaif's six hour vigil.


Scorecards

India First Innings

Jaffer----81
Sehwag----2
Dravid----40
Tendulkar----16
Laxman----0
Kaif----91
Dhoni----5
Pathan----2
Kumble----58
Harbhajan Singh----0 NOT OUT
Sreesanth----0 NOT OUT
Extras----27 (2nb, 5w, 17b, 3lb)

England First Innings Bowling

Hoggard----5-57
Harmison----1-75
Flintoff----1-68
Panesar----2-72
Blackwell----0-28
Bell----0-2

So yeah. We did alright. Next day review tomorrow.
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Day 4 of 5 versus India (First Test)

India: 323 All Out
England: 297-3


So India added one run and then were all out, then England, in particular Alastair Cook batted brilliantly.

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"BBC Sport"
 
Alastair Cook marked his Test debut with a patient century as England built a 367-run lead in Nagpur.

Cook reached his hundred off 236 balls and was 104 not out at the close after he and Kevin Pietersen (87) made India pay for their fielding lapses.

Three catches were dropped during the day as England reached 297-3 after bowling out the home side for 323.

Matthew Hoggard ended India's innings by having Sri Sreesanth lbw to finish with figures of 6-57.

But the manner of Sreesanth's dismissal off the seventh ball of the day's play was an early warning for India that this was not going to be their day.

TV replays showed the ball clip the inside edge of the number 11's bat before striking the pad.

But that did not concern Hoggard, whose figures were his best in a Test since he took 7-61 against South Africa 14 months ago.

England began their reply 70 runs to the good, Cook and Andrew Strauss permitting themselves few liberties as both Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth swung the new ball around.

Strauss, in particular, was in no mood to repeat the needless waft outside off stump which cost him his wicket in the first innings, while Cook built solidly on the good impressions made in his 60 on the opening day.

Indian skipper Rahul Dravid quickly turned to his spinners, a shrewd - if predictable - ploy to try to prey on Cook's nerves.

The 21-year-old Essex batsman was given a thorough examination by Kumble, who looped the ball menacingly into the foot marks outside off stump, but stood up to the challenge well.

England's openers survived beyond the lunch interval and took the score to 95 before Strauss, on 46, nibbled at a good one from Pathan and was caught behind.

Ian Bell, who has had a largely anonymous match, had barely enough time to gather his thoughts before he edged an angled delivery from Pathan to Mahendra Dhoni, who claimed his second catch.


When Pietersen arrived in the middle, Cook dropped anchor in a supporting role, adding only 18 to his score during the afternoon.

Pietersen played with characteristic freedom but he should have departed on 36 when he chipped the ball straight back to Kumble.

The bowler claimed the catch, but Pietersen stood his ground and, after a prolonged deliberation, was given the benefit of the doubt by the third umpire, presumably on the basis that it was a bump ball.

Indian heads dropped and catches went the same way as Pietersen, on 51, Cook, on 70 and later Paul Collingwood, on four, were all given a helping hand or two by the fielders.

If Sreesanth's miss at cover off Pietersen was bad, Harbhajan's failure to hold a leading edge from Cook off his own bowling was even worse.

Only Mohammad Kaif, who leapt athletically at mid-wicket to try and collect a lofted stroke by Collingwood as it flew over his shoulder could claim to be unfortunate.

Pietersen hit 14 fours and a six but was suffering from cramp when he top-edged a slow sweep off Kumble.

Dravid took the catch to bring an end to a third-wicket partnership worth 124.

The remainder of the day was all about Cook, who became only the 16th England player to score a hundred in his first Test by square-cutting a ball from Harbhajan for his 12th four.

Collingwood rubbed salt into India's collective wounds with a six in the final over to take him to 36 and leave the hosts facing a final day battle to escape from the game with a draw.


Scorecards

India First Innings

Jaffer----81
Sehwag----2
Dravid----40
Tendulkar----16
Laxman----0
Kaif----91
Dhoni----5
Pathan----2
Kumble----58
Harbhajan Singh----0
Sreesanth----1
Extras----27 (2nb, 5w, 17b, 3lb)

England First Innings Bowling

Hoggard----6-57
Harmison----1-75
Flintoff----1-68
Panesar----2-73
Blackwell----0-28
Bell----0-2

England Second Innings

Strauss---46
Cook----104 NOT OUT
Bell----1
Pietersen----87
Collingwood----36 NOT OUT
Extras----23 (2nb, 2w, 12b, 7 lb)
Yet to Bat: Flintoff, G Jones, Blackwell, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar

India Bowling Second Innings

Pathan----2-48
Sreesanth----0-36
Kumble----1-101
Harbhajan Singh----0-79
Sehwag----0-14

So England will probably declare overnight, with a lead of 367 and hope to hustle India out tomorrow. Let's hope they do.
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Day 5 of 5 versus India (First Test)

India: 260-6

It was one of the most improbable and unexpected results in a while. Depleted England drew against world beaters India in a frantic last day.

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"BBC Sport"
 
Wasim Jaffer hit a maiden century as England and India drew the first Test after a gripping final session.

The teams shook hands in Nagpur when the umpires offered the light to the Indian batsmen with the score on 260-6, still 108 short of their target.

There had been little sign of what was to come as Jaffer and Rahul Dravid (71) put on 167 in orthodox fashion.

But the game burst into life after tea as India added 129 in 22 overs before accepting the task was beyond them.

After watching the two teams apparently going through the motions in the first two sessions, the crowd went through an entire range of emotions as the home side took on England's attack.

Irfan Pathan smashed 35 off 25 balls and Sachin Tendulkar took three fours off an over from Ian Blackwell with some audacious strokeplay.

But the dangerous Mahendra Dhoni failed to sparkle and when he and Harbhajan Singh were dismissed in successive overs from Steve Harmison, India sent out VVS Laxman to shut up shop.

At that point the initiative was back with England who, having performed excellently over the previous four days, needed four more wickets for victory in the final 11 and a half overs.

Laxman did not have to face a single delivery, however, as the umpires decided the light had faded sufficiently to cause them concern and he and Tendulkar (28 not out) headed for the dressing room.

The final day provided a searching examination of Andrew Flintoff's captaincy credentials.

And it was clear he still has plenty to learn after being handed the job at short notice following Michael Vaughan's return home because of a knee injury.

He failed to vary his tactics during the afternoon session and some of his field placings were questionable as Jaffer and Dravid collected ones, twos and an occasional boundary pretty much as they pleased.

England had begun the day by declaring on their overnight score of 297-3, leaving India a remote target of 368, and were given an early boost when Matthew Hoggard's perfect off-cutter knocked back the off stump to remove Virender Sehwag for a duck.

Only 23 runs were scored in the first hour and England eventually turned to spin in the hope of a second breakthrough before lunch.

Blackwell was unlucky when Dravid, on 17, played a loose shot to an angled delivery and keeper Geraint Jones failed to hang onto a thin edge.

Jaffer, meanwhile, was almost run out when substitute fielder Matt Prior's throw just missed the stumps at the bowler's end.

And he had another escape when he drove Hoggard uppishly to mid-off where Ian Bell was unable to hang onto a diving one-handed chance.

India were 131-1 at tea and it looked as if the game would peter out with the body language of Flintoff and his team suggesting they believed a draw was inevitable.

But Dravid raised the tempo as he passed 1,000 runs in Tests against England before Panesar confirmed the good impression he had made in his debut appearance by bowling him for 71.

Pathan, promoted to number four, ran to the middle in his eagerness to get on with it and Flintoff soon sent his fielders scurrying back to the rope to try and cut off a flow of boundaries.

Jaffer, playing his first Test for three and a half years, reached three figures off 197 balls with 12 fours before hitting a ball from Flintoff straight to cover and the England skipper struck again when Pathan chipped to mid-wicket.

India needed 132 off the final 15 overs and the decision to reintroduce Blackwell after a drinks break looked a dubious one as Tendulkar produced fours with a reverse sweep, orthodox sweep and lofted drive over cover.

But Dhoni (16) clubbed Harmison down the ground to Strauss, who was patrolling the long-off boundary, and the Durham paceman then flattened Harbhajan's stumps with a yorker.

It was frenetic stuff and then suddenly the fun was over as the players shook hands with all to play for in the second and third Tests.


What a game.

Scorecards

India Second Innings

Jaffer----100
Sehwag----0
Dravid----71
Pathan----35
Dhoni----16
Tendulkar----28 NOT OUT
Harbhajan Singh----7
Laxman---0 NOT OUT
Extras----3 (3lb)
Did not bat: Kumble, Kaif, Sreesanth

England Bowling Second Innings

Hoggard----1-29
Harmison----2-48
Flintoff----2-79
Panesar----1-58
Blackwell----0-43

So thats the First test over. The second test starts on 9th March.
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