adminLONDON. — Ajinkya Rahane’s 103 helped India reach 290 for nine in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of the second test against England at Lord’s yesterday.
Earlier, England shrugged off a poor morning session to wrest the initiative off India as a four-wicket burst after lunch reduced the visitors to 140 for six.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lost the toss and was asked to bat by Alastair Cook, seeking to take advantage of a distinctly green-looking pitch in the second match of the five-test series.
The surface was in marked contrast to the one used in Nottingham, which came in for fierce criticism for its placid nature as the first match petered out to a tame draw.
After being presented with a pitch to their liking, England initially failed to grasp the opportunity to make significant inroads into the Indian line-up, managing just two wickets before lunch.
However, four more dismissals in the middle session put the hosts in the driving seat, with Ajinkya Rahane (26) and Stuart Binny (6) left to salvage the innings after tea.
James Anderson had the dangerous Virat Kohli caught by Matt Prior for 25, the wicketkeeper looking slightly sheepish after dropping two catches before lunch, while Ben Stokes knocked back Cheteshwar Pujara’s middle stump after an obdurate 28 from 117 balls.
Dhoni, who raised England’s ire by reporting Anderson for an incident involving Ravindra Jadeja at Trent Bridge, received a frosty reception from the Lord’s crowd and much to their delight, lasted only 17 balls before being caught by Prior off Stuart Broad for one.
Meanwhile, JP Duminy hit a superb unbeaten century to put South Africa in a position of strength on the second day of the first test against Sri Lanka in Galle yesterday,
The left-hander came in to bat with South Africa placed at a shaky 331-7 but he batted sensibly under pressure to help his side declare their first innings at 455-9.
In reply, Sri Lanka were 30-0 when stumps were drawn for the day with Kaushal Silva batting on eight and Upul Tharanga on 20.
Tharanga, playing his first test in six years, showed little signs of nervousness, hitting four boundaries in his 40-ball innings so far.
The Sri Lankan bowlers were made to toil in hot and humid conditions by the gritty rival batsmen who dug in to ensure their team did not lose the advantage of winning the toss and batting first on a placid track at the Galle International Stadium.
It was Duminy (100 not out) who stole the show with a superb rearguard action after opener Dean Elgar had laid the foundation for a good total with a 103-run knock on day one. — SuperSport.
Online Reporter