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KP's ton puts England in the driver's seat

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Kevin PietersenIndia are three down already chasing a huge target of 380 to win the Lord's Test. The two best batsmen of the side - Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are already back in the pavilion but there is a slight bit of hope thanks to a fighting stand between Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly. The stiff target set by England was due to Kevin Pietersen's 9th test match hundred. All the three results are quite possible on the fifth and final day at Lord's with the weather expected to play its part!

The fourth day's play was a special one for two people - one was Pietersen and the other was R.P.Singh who picked up a five-wicket haul. The morning session went India's way with RP Singh picking up three wickets. The first one was Vaughan playing onto his stumps in his attempted drive. It was followed with cruel bouncer that got Collingwood helplessly fending that into the slips. Collingwood just managed to avoid a pair as he had got got a boundary before getting bounced out. Another short delivery from RP Singh got the wicket of Ian Bell, an attempted pull shot crashing back onto his stumps. All these three wickets came with RP Singh bowling from round the sticks. England went into lunch with Pietersen at 62 in the company of Matthew Prior.

RP Singh after completing the English innings with a fiferThe second session started to go England's way as they tried to extend their lead. Pietersen and Prior played their natural game and soon the Indians were giving up their hopes of bowling out England quickly. Pietersen soon got to his hundred which came in 148 balls. The partnership for the sixth wicket was finally broken by Zaheer Khan with Prior's outside edge finally carrying to the keeper. Prior made 42 as England got to a lead of 348. The next ball put Zaheer on a hat-trick with Tremlett's tentative forward defence rolling back onto the stumps. Zaheer got his hat-trick ball to swing back late into the blockhole but Ryan Sidebottom was good enough to block it. The Indians managed to clean up England for 282 with Kumble getting Sidebottom caught in the slips off a skidder and RP Singh taking Pietersen and Monty Panesar's wickets. Pietersen (134 from 213 balls with 14 fours and a six) was also bowled playing onto his stumps off an attempted pull while Monty was done in by a sharp reverse swinging delivery that trapped him in front of the stumps. That was the fifth wicket for RP Singh who brought in a lot of pace, swing and different angles that helped him to take excellent figures of 5 for 59 in 16.3 overs.

The start from Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik was a promising one until the former got out to a soft dismissal. Anderson got the false shot from Jaffer, who flicked him in the air and straight into the waiting hands of Pietersen at short mid wicket leaving India at 38 for 1. India's Skipper Rahul Dravid got off to a cracking start with a stylish square cut for a boundary. But it wasn't going to be his day as he was adjudged leg before the wicket to a delivery that struck him just marginally outside the offstump. Tremlett was the bowler getting the ball to nip back getting Dravid (9) caught half cock. Like Dravid, Tendulkar too disappointed, he was also out lbw but to Monty Panesar. Tendulkar was outsmarted by the left arm spinner with the right hander playing for the turn as he got his bat outside the line of the ball. Monty brought the ball with the arm leaving Tendulkar (16) dumbfounded. At 84 for 3, India were looking very fragile but a gutsy partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Sourav Ganguly kept them in the business at the end of the day with 243 more runs to win with seven wickets in hand. Karthik was very impressive, positive in his drives while Ganguly was mixing caution with sparks of aggression. The southpaw did have his heart in his mouth when he was dropped by Ian Bell at silly point off a prod in Monty's bowling. Dinesh Karthik has got himself to 56 and Ganguly has got to 36.

 

 

 

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