Chawla gets career-best haul, India lose Sehwag early
India lost Virender Sehwag cheaply after leg-spinner Piyush Chawla’s career-best haul of 4/69 ended England’s first innings at 330 on the second day of the fourth and final cricket Test here today.
India were 32 for one in 12 overs at tea. Chawla snapped up the wickets of debutant Joe Root (73), Graeme Swann who made 56, and James Anderson, in a superb post-lunch spell of 4.5-0-17-3, to add to his lone success yesterday.
The 23-year-old Chawla thus bettered his earlier best of two for 66 versus South Africa at Kanpur in 2008. Chawla’s spell, after England resumed at the lunchtime score of 277 for seven, helped India wrap up the visitors’ first innings within the first hour of play.
However, the hosts then lost the prize wicket of Sehwag for a second-ball duck.
Sehwag’s middle stump was uprooted after he failed to negotiate a searing in-swinging ball from Anderson. At the end of the second session, India were 298 runs behind the visitors’ total, with opener Gautam Gambhir (17) and Cheteshwar Pujara (15) at the crease.
Gambhir, who is under pressure to perform along with other seniors in the series in which India are trailing 1-2, looked in good touch as he square drove Bresnan and Anderson for handsome fours, before coming down the track to hammer left-arm spinner Monty Panesar for a boundary just before tea.
Pujara, after surviving a torrid spell from Anderson, hit the fast bowler for a glorious off-drive. The hosts, however, have a huge task ahead of them against a pumped-up Anderson — he rattled Pujara with a scorching bumper immediately after his arrival — and the other English bowlers.
England, who resumed at an overnight score of 199 for five, added 78 runs in 32 overs while losing the wickets of Matt Prior (57) and Tim Bresnan to Ravichandran Aswhin and Ishant Sharma.
Post new comment