A first Test of unlikely batting records fizzled out into a draw as India declared on 391 for nine late on the fifth day against England at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
India recovered from losing three wickets early on the final day, which briefly gave the hosts a glimpse of victory, but Test debutant Stuart Binny and tail-ender Bhuvneshwar Kumar scored half centuries to snuff out the danger.
The Nottingham ground had not hosted a drawn Test match since 2002, when India were also the visitors, but despite both teams suffering mid-innings mini collapses in their first innings, bowling proved a slog on a flat pitch.
Photo: Reuters
India would have hoped to have been bowling for a victory on Sunday, but an all-time Test record 10th-wicket stand of 198 between Joe Root and James Anderson on day four meant they had work to do just to ensure the draw.
“We dragged ourselves out of a hole in this game [on Saturday],” England captain Alastair Cook told Sky Sports. “We had a poor session when we lost six wickets. It was an outstanding 100 from Root and with Jimmy to have got 80-something. I didn’t see it coming, but thank goodness he got it.”
The tourists began the day on 167 for three, a lead of 128 runs, but under gloomy skies which aided swing bowling, England’s attack made early inroads.
In the second over of the day Stuart Broad got the ball to reverse and Virat Kohli (8), widely considered India’s most dangerous batsmen, was trapped LBW.
Broad claimed his second victim soon after when Ajinkya Rahane fell for 24 after edging a swinging delivery to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (11) was dropped by his England counterpart Alastair Cook off Broad, but failed to make the most of his luck when Liam Plunkett sent his stumps cartwheeling out of the ground with a full delivery.
At that stage an England victory was still possible, but Ravindra Jadeja stemmed the tide with a laboured 31 before edging an Anderson delivery to Prior shortly after lunch.
“Today you saw no matter what pitch you play on, teams can be put under pressure, but unfortunately a couple of their guys got stuck in,” Anderson said. “We knew there was a small chance of winning, but we gave it everything. [Alaistair] Cookie was very keen to give the first couple of hours a real push, which we did.”
As the match idled towards a draw, under-pressure England captain Cook, who has not enjoyed a win in nine Test matches, decided to rest his four-man seam attack ahead of the second Test at Lord’s on Thursday and introduced part-time spinners Moeen Ali and Joe Root.
Ali followed his two wickets from the previous day when he trapped Binny LBW, but not before the batsman had reached a maiden Test half century with 78.
In a Test of milestones, Kumar’s half-century, following his first innings 58, meant he was only the second No. 9 to reach 50 in each innings in a Test match, matching the record of Peter Siddle against India in Delhi last year.
Kumar also shared in a 111 partnership with No. 11 Mohammed Shami in India’s first innings — a last-wicket record for India against England.
Even Cook himself had a bowl, much to the delight of the home crowd, and he was allowed a smile with the wicket of Ishant Sharma (13) when he edged to Prior.
“A few people aren’t talking to me,” Cook explained after a playful two overs in which he played up to cheers of the fans. “It was a extraordinary moment for me to have more Test wickets than [bowling coach] David Saker.”
“We threw everything into today, but when they got above 250-260 you felt we weren’t going to win,” he said. “We had a sniff when they were only 200 ahead, but the wicket won.”
India declared after his over, and as stumps were drawn all eyes moved to the home of cricket next week.
The visitors have not played a five-match Test series on English soil since 1959 and are in search of their first away win since 2011, while England are chasing their first victory of coach Peter Moores’ second spell in charge.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two