5.30 pm - First up, an update on Zaheer Khan. He may bowl in the second innings.
A reader named UK says:
Playing with only 4 bowlers and dropping Sreeshant is an irrational decision. Praveen Kumar is excellent for domestic cricket, but test cricket is a different cup of tea. Ishant has got wickets only when there are penetrative bowlers like Zaheer and Sreeshant at the other end. So today we don't have a bowling attack worth the name - I don't know how many of today's readers remember the times of Pataudi when we went into an England series with wicket keeper Buddi Kunderan as one of the opening bowlers ! Dhoni had better stopped relying on his luck to remain at No 1.
As for now, India have been reduced to three bowlers. Praveen has bowled 27.3 of the 77 overs so far. That is more than a third of all overs — humongous work load for a pace bowler and he hasn't shied away.
He has carried India through this session. Against the flow of things, he put in a little extra into an in-swinger to Trott and caught him in front of the leg-stump. He nearly had Pietersen when a flick eluded Rahul Dravid's hands at leg-slip. More about that catch below.
There's nothing in the pitch. There's little support from Harbhajan's end — by the way of containing runs or taking wickets. Pietersen has picked him for easily singles to the leg-side. Ian Bell has expressed himself more freely, cutting Harbhajan for two fours and sweeping him for one more.
Harbhajan is leaking runs at nearly four an over — a big number considering the innings has moved at well below three an over.
Bell averages over 200 in Tests this year. And he's off to a start. There's a hundred to be had here. India will have to rest the front-liners and bowl part-time off-spin at some point today.
Coming back to Dravid's near-catch. It has caught the attention of many tweeters. A small sample:
@ZaltzCricket - Looked probably out. But not the most confident appeal by Dravid.
@adityavnathan - Being too honest not the best remedy at times like this. It looked out.
@StewieCricket - Initial reaction was Dravid ct the ball. As always TV replays and 3rd umpire favour the batsman.
@greigtalks - For Gods sake the time has come for cricketers to grow up – take the fielders word for weather or not the catch was taken. Dravid is not a cheat and he claimed the catch all KP had to do was ask him. I would like to think that is what ST would do. That KP decision could be a game changer and its why players have to take more responsibility please RT I need feedback on this
Zaheer Khan pulls up on Thursday.
As the first session was underway, a thought crossed this writer's mind. India have played many Test series abroad with at least one of their first-choice pacers missing due to injury. How long before one of them gets injured in England?
Given how much India rely on Zaheer's penetrative abilities, the answer to that should have been "eventually". But who would have thought it would be on the first day of a mouth-watering series?
Andrew Flintoff was quick to point out on Twitter that India's hopes of remaining No. 1 rank will go with Zaheer.
Similarly, our readers had a few things to say about dropping Sreesanth, who had bowled with distinction in Durban and Cape Town, but has only kept the bench warm since then.
An unnamed reader said:
I don't understand why sreesanth is not playing in this match. I know that he is not a good ODI bowler but he is a great test bowler. He already proved it in the recent south african tour where he picked wickets consistently including a 5 wicket haul. It would have really reduced Zaheer's burden since no other bowler has picked wickets...even Ishant is not getting his line and length right.
Patt1 said:
Just as Flintoff has tweeted, without Zaheer India will lose the series. Zaheer is perhaps the best bowler in the World alongside Steyn. He is the only reason India has won in the last couple of years. The other bowlers (Harbhajan included) are there just to take an odd wicket. There was no Sehwag to unsettle the English bowlers and now (it looks like) no Zaheer to unsettle the English batsmen. Bummer.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh is bowling to a leg-side field around the wicket to the two right-handers. The sun is shining. This is day to pile runs on. There's just one man catching. It would be criminal for Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen to not score hundreds here.
02:47
All In One's Blog
