MS Dhoni won his 3rd successive toss of the tournament and once again decided to bat first owing to India’s record at the Eden Gardens.
Sachin Tendulkar marked his return to form with a patient 76
Unlike the previous two pitches prepared this one was not tailor made for the spinners but still India stumbled and crawled to 273 at the loss of 7 wickets. The major highlight of the day was the performance of the maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin answered all those critics who wanted his retirement with a classical innings. In fact now the same mouths will be all praise for the Little Master.
For the first time in the series the stand out bowler was a pace bowler. James Anderson was the standout bowler troubling the Indian batsmen with his reverse swing, he was ably supported by Finn who replaced Broad.
India could have ended the day much better had they not wasted some of their wickets, like the first wicket of the day when Sehwag was run out. Gambhir and Yuvraj also threw away their wickets to wasteful shots. Virat Kohli who is India’s ace in the limited overs once again failed to perform, now arising serious questions about his spot in the squad. Pujara failed to continue his good run and was dismissed cheaply.
The Indian batsmen were very watchful in their innings, playing the safe game. Gambhir who scored a half century in the 2nd Innings of the 2nd test scored another half century. He was supported by Tendulkar who got out of one of his worst periods in his career with a knock of 76.
Sachin was very careful and determined not to go out cheaply again. He played Panesar with extreme caution and was determined not to let him dismiss him. Panesar had dismissed Sachin twice in the Mumbai Test.
Once Gambhir was removed the run rate started hitting rock bottom and the introduction of pace bowling from both ends finally reaped benefits as Kohli nicked Anderson. Yuvraj’s arrival started the run flow again as the left hander scored 32 of 54 with one over the boundary. Sachin meanwhile reached his half century, much to the joy of many supporters and then unleashed his trademark shots. The paddle sweeps, the punch over cover,; everything in his Arsenal were being used.
Anderson finally ended Tendulkar’s show at the crease and Swann picked up Yuvraj. This bought Dhoni and Ashwin to the crease who battled out the English attack for a long time, but Anderson eventually cleaned up Ashwin for 21.
India were 266/6 at the end of day 1 in Mumbai on a much more testing pitch and would be disappointed with their performance. They are already chasing a test that they need to win.
Tags: 3rd Test, Cricket, Eden Gardens, England, Gautam Gambhir, India, Sachin Tendulkar
