England finally saw the back of Murali Vijay as India continued to grind out the runs in their first Test at Trent Bridge yesterday.
India were 342 for five at lunch on the second day after opener Vijay fell leg-before-wicket to James Anderson for 146 — the only wicket England took in the session.
However, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni — dropped on his overnight score of 50 — was 81 not out, while Ravindra Jadeja was 24 not out.
India resumed on 259 for four, with Vijay 122 not out — his fourth Test hundred, but first overseas — and Dhoni, who had won the toss, at the crease.
It had been a gruelling first day for England’s four seamers on a flat pitch in ground that had precious little pace and bounce.
In these circumstances, they could ill afford dropped catches.
Yet when Dhoni drove loosely at a full-length delivery from England skipper Stuart Broad and got a thick edge, England wicketkeeper Matt Prior, diving to his right, floored the one-handed chance.
Vijay had got off to a flyer on Wednesday with 11 boundaries in his first 50 runs and he showed that magic touch again yesterday by cover-driving Anderson for four.
Nevertheless, both Anderson (4-2-9-0) and Broad (5-3-8-0), on his Nottinghamshire home ground, proved tough to get away.
Nevertheless, Vijay played arguably the shot of the morning when he leaned forward to guide all-rounder Ben Stokes through backward point for four.
England captain Alastair Cook tried to be innovative by packing the offside field in front of the wicket only for Dhoni to still get the ball through for four off Stokes.
Yet Vijay’s near eight-hour innings eventually ended when he was leg-before-wicket to Anderson after having faced 361 balls, including 25 fours and a six.
He also put on 126 for the fifth wicket with Dhoni.
Replays suggested the ball was going over top of the stumps but with no Decision Review System this series due to Indian objections, Vijay had to accept Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford’s verdict.
Jadeja, who would have been run out for four had Stokes’s shy hit the stumps, then exposed the weak link in England’s attack by driving part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali for two straight sixes in three balls.
Ali’s three overs in the session cost 20 runs, giving him expensive lunch figures of none for 70 in 12 overs.
Nottinghamshire head groundsman Steve Birks said things had not gone to plan after appearing to produce a pitch ideally suited for India, rather than England.
“We wanted to produce a pitch with pace, bounce and carry which hasn’t happened unfortunately,” Birks said on Wednesday. “There’s quite a lot of moisture underneath but it’s a hard surface on top which is why it’s lacking pace”
“Our only instruction is to produce a good cricket wicket and, with hindsight, we may have left a bit more grass on it, but this is the first day of a five-day Test and, while I don’t expect spin to come into it, we hope it might quicken up a bit,” Birks said.
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