Day One
Score:
India 290/9
Rahul Dravid marks the start of Day 1 at Lord's
With flat and docile pitch playing a spoilsport in Trent Bridge Test,onus was on Lord's wicket to play well and give batters and bowlers an equal and fair advantage.England won the crucial toss and had no hesitation in putting India into bat on a green,grassy wicket.It was clear that England wanted to exploit best of the bowling conditions on a green wicket and they did just that when Anderson dismissed Dhawan cheaply as England drew first blood.Conditions were testing for Indian batsman as they were ready for the grind on a wicket that offered a lot of help to the seamers. Once again Vijay and Pujara got their act together as they survived the crucial first hour of play and showed good technique and temperament with willingness to leave the balls outside their off-stump.But,just as the partnership of Vijay and Pujara was blossoming,Plunkett brought an end to Vijay's stay at the crease as India were reduced to 48/2.Kohli,walked in at No.4 and brought some momentum into the Indian innings with some flurry of runs as India ended the session at 73/2 and clearly session belonged to India as they batted well on a tough pitch.
Pujara and Kohli resumed the Indian innings after lunch but Anderson accounted for Kohli's downfall shortly after lunch.Pujara's resolute innings was ended by Stokes delivery that castled his stumps and India were left tottering at 113/4.Dhoni joined Rahane in the middle as they had the responsibility of rebuilding the innings.But,Dhoni edged one to Prior as Broad got rid of Indian skipper just for a single.The next man in,Jadeja too didn't last long as 6th wicket fell at the score of 128.India went into tea at 6 down for 140 with Rahane still at the crease.
Binny was the next man to go as Indian team found itself in a horrendous position at 145/7.Though Rahane was playing beautifully at one end,he was running out of partners and needed someone to stick around with him.Finally,he found an able partner in B Kumar as the duo lead the Indian fightback.Soon,Rahane completed his well-crafted half century.Rahane's and Kumar's stay at the crease had a calming influence on the dressing room as their partnership started to flourish.The duo completed their 50 run stand as India went past 200.But,just when their partnership looked threatening,B Kumar's resilience was ended by a Broad delivery that castled his stumps.The 90 run partnership between Rahane and Kumar was of massive importance from India's perspective as that not only saved India from a certain batting collapse but also got some momentum going into the Indian innings.By then,Rahane was playing fluently as he was nearing a Test hundred at Lord's.If he had to grind for his first 50 runs,his next 50 runs were authoritative as he celebrated his hundred at the Mecca of Cricket with a classical punch of the back foot and the whole Indian team rose in jubilation.Rahane's century was a classy knock ,full of determination and solid technique and temperament.He played fabulously well when chips were down and proved his worth,his knock worth weighing in gold.However,Rahane was dismissed by Anderson immediately following his hundred as India ended the day at 290/9.
Ajinkya Rahane celebrates after completing his maiden hundred
at Lord's.
Score:
India 290/9
Stumps,Day 1.
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