England lose 2nd Test
An unlikely comeback was thwarted and India have won the 2nd Test comfortably. I missed the first couple of days and much of the third but the damage was done on day one with England slumping to 169 -7 when the match finally started at 3:00pm. Difficult conditions apparently, but they probably should have done better and offered more resistance - the reward would have been bright sunshine to bat in the following day, which the Indians exploited to the full.
The result was England chasing a 240 run deficit in their second innings and this is where I got interested and ultimately cursed them. With Vaughan reaching a century I tuned in and was rewarded with him getting out a few balls later and after that the usual England collapse took shape.
A couple of things which stood out for me - one was KP failing again. Is it me or is it that since he became ODI Number one batsman he has had a sudden dip in form?
The other was Ian Bell’s second innings. I’m going to be harsh but it has to be said. In any ODI, when you want him to score quickly he hangs around for 3 hours scoring at 1 or 2 an over. Yesterday when you want him to hang around for 3 hours and use up some time, when 1 or 2 an over might have been OK he gets out 2nd ball.
When I initially tuned in I thought foolishly we might be able to bat out the day and maybe till lunchtime today, and then give the attack something to defend - 150 or 200 might have made it interesting. But within a couple of hours it was all over. The only ray of light in the tail being Sidebottom hitting 25 off of 26 balls.
Tremlett sounds like he bowled with some hostility taking 3 wickets - will look forward to seeing that this evening, but ultimately they were never going to defend 73. Even the West Indies could have got those runs.