India hit back after Cook and Pietersen complete centuries

Nov 25, 2012 |

mumbai

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England captain Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen compiled contrasting hundreds before India struck back by taking two wickets late in the first session on day three of the second cricket Test here today.

Cook struck his second hundred, 122, in as many innings while Pietersen notched his first of the series as England batted their way to within 29 runs of the home side's first innings total of 327 before India broke the double century stand.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally brought an end the 206-run third-wicket partnership by sending back Cook with 35 minutes to go for lunch and then Pragyan Ojha, who had taken both visiting team wickets yesterday, claimed Jonny Bairstow to restore the balance for the home team.

At lunch, the visitors looked poised to take the lead and put pressure on the hosts when they were 298 for four with Pietersen going strong on 138 after facing 178 balls and hitting 17 fours and a six.

England set off at a rapid pace as compared to yesterday this morning as Cook and Pietersen raced to their respective 22nd hundreds within a space of 10 minutes.

Cook was the first to complete the landmark with a push to the mid-off region off Harbhajan Singh to stand alongside Walter Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Geoff Boycott -- all of who scored 22 hundreds in Tests.

It was also the left handed opener's second successive hundred in the series, following his back-to-the-wall 176 at Ahmedabad, and by the time he achieved the feat he had batted for nearly 1000 minutes in he two Tests in stamina-sapping and technique-searching conditions.

It came off the 27th ball the 27-year-old faced in the morning and just past the half hour. The hundred in his 85th Test contained 11 fours and a six and came off 236 balls.

Pietersen also started using his feet to the spinners and lofted the ball over the field, past cover and then reached his century with an audacious reverse sweep off Harbhajan in 127 balls and 10 minutes over three hours with the help of 15 fours.

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