Bowlers call the shots on day one
AP Sreesanth, replacing the injured Zaheer Khan, pulled his weight in the bowling attack by scalping Trott, Pietersen and Prior.
After its bowlers had made impressive use of swinging, seaming conditions to reduce England to 124 for eight, Stuart Broad (64) and Graeme Swann swung boisterous bats. There was some clear thinking to go with the bold strokeplay, as England recovered to make 221, not an insubstantial total given how advantaged the bowlers were.
India lost Abhinav Mukund to the first ball of its innings, caught at gully off James Anderson. But Rahul Dravid, opening in place of Gautam Gambhir, and V.V.S. Laxman, at his favourite one-drop, batted skilfully — and, it must be said, fortunately — for an hour to take India to stumps on 24 for one.
Same texture
The texture of Friday's play was similar to the first day at Lord's; its vital substance, the action itself, was different, however. It wasn't as gloomy here at Trent Bridge, but the clouds covered the ground in a grey blanket. The air had a cold edge to it, causing the fielders to blow life into their fingers after intercepting the ball.
For a while neither Praveen Kumar nor Ishant Sharma bothered England's openers. The ball was swinging and lifting on occasion off the wicket (which had tufts of dry grass). But not one wicket-taking ball materialised in the first 20 minutes.
Ishant Sharma broke through with Alastair Cook's wicket. Deep in his crease, the left-hander was trapped on the move, ball rapping pad before he could prop forward.
Sreesanth strikes
Sreesanth was introduced in the 11th over, and he struck almost immediately. Although his first few balls slid down the left-hander's leg-side, the signs from the bowler's action were good. His run-up was controlled and balanced; his gather at delivery followed as a consequence: he wasn't striving for effect as he sometimes does.
Jonathan Trott did little wrong. The out-swinger was just that good. Till late in its flight it invited the cover-drive. In the last third of its course, it dropped and swerved, continuing its shape away from the right-hander off the pitch to gain the edge to second slip.
In two significant ways, it differed from what Praveen had been bowling till then: the movement was later (the moment the ball started to leave its projected line was delayed) and the pace was quicker (86mph to Praveen's average of about 78mph).
Kevin Pietersen helped his captain raise 50 even as the Indian bowlers looked as though they were losing patience. Pietersen played two vicious pull strokes, the first off the front foot, against Sreesanth to announce his intention to dominate.
India was desperate to get Pietersen. Praveen had to be dragged away from umpire Marais Erasmus after he lost his composure. He had done splendidly in setting the batsman up with out-swingers before slipping an in-swinger in. The appeal for leg-before-wicket was a strong one, but Praveen had no business protesting.
The bowlers regrouped after lunch, however, to trigger a vivid slide. First Sreesanth had Pietersen stabbing a catch to third slip — the length, adjusted slightly shorter to discomfort Pietersen's large stride forward, worked, as did the late movement. Praveen then struck twice in an over. Strauss, who had made a disciplined 32, found a full ball as tempting as the most divine meringue.
An overeager bottom hand disrupted the drive. Suresh Raina, standing closer than is common at third slip, held a sharp catch.
The left-handed Eoin Morgan received a delivery that satisfied the stringent conditions for lbw from over the wicket: it pitched marginally in line and straightened enough.
Superb delivery
When Sreesanth had the dangerous Matt Prior caught at first slip with an out-swinger that curled and jagged from a straighter line, India had England on 88 for six. Had Rahul Dravid not put Ian Bell down (off Praveen), it would have been 98 for seven.
But Ishant ensured Dravid's guilt didn't endure overlong, first gifting him a low catch at first slip — Tim Bresnan, bullied from wide of the crease, nicked one that just held up — and then removing Bell for a fighting, easy-on-the-eye 31.
Counter-attack
Broad and Swann rattled India after tea with a brilliantly brazen counter-attack. With the crowd roaring their “cheeky chappies” on, the Nottinghamshire pair knocked the seamers off their length. The fields which made sterling sense in the first two sessions — enough men in the slips and, vitally, one often at short-leg — lost their sanity. Praveen eventually terminated the 73-run partnership — a delivery snapped off a length and cramped Swann, but the 11.4 overs of mayhem had hurt India.
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