PT - India

NOTTINGHAM, The Indian master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar joined the 11,000 Test run club as Indian batsmen tightened the noose around England’s neck after their bowlers had pinned down the hosts on day two of the second cricket match here today.
Having bowled out England for a meagre 198 runs in their first innings in the morning, India batted themselves into a commanding position reaching 254 for three and taking a 56-run lead before bad light stopped play.
Tendulkar was batting on 57 off 111 balls that included six hits to the fence and giving him company was the former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Playing his 139th Test, Tendulkar cover drove England spin sensation Monty Panesar for a boundary to join the elite 11,000-run club, which has two other members in West Indies batting legend Brian Lara (11,953) and former Australia captain Allan Border (11,174).
India got off to a solid start with Tamil Nadu batsman Dinesh Kaarthick and Mumbai lad Wasim Jaffer, batting with the right mix of caution and aggression and sharing a 147-run stand.
They shouldered great deal of responsibility as the Indians looked determined to put the horrors of Lord’s firmly behind them.
They also had the luck of the brave as they played and missed on a few occasions as the English seamers looked to make the most of the conditions in the afternoon. The hosts were, however, denied any success for precisely 176 minutes and 42.1 overs before Jaffer nicked a short rising delivery from Chris Tremlett to wicket keeper Matt Prior just before tea. He made 62 off 123 balls and hit seven fours.
The Indians were extremely cautious on a pitch, which was offering considerable seam and swing movement in the 16 overs they faced before lunch.
Kaarthick made his intentions clear as he cover drove English pacer James Anderson and flashed hard at southpaw Ryan Sidebottom to point fence to pick up handy boundaries.
Jaffer was a bit more subdued, taking 11 balls to get off the mark. He drove Sidebottom through covers for a brace to get off the blocks and was too happy to block rather than attack.
In the post-lunch session that produced 109 runs both Kaarthick and Jaffer turned on the heat on the hosts.
Kaarthick, who is gaining maturity in every match, played a lovely back foot cover drive off Sidebottom and then took two more boundaries off par-time bowler Paul Collingwood.
Jaffer took a cue from his partner by cover driving and gliding medium pacer Tremlett for two fours.
However, he had a huge slice of luck in the same over when his outside edge was dropped by Collingwood, diving to his left, at gully. Jaffer was then on 32 and India on 72 without loss.
When Panesar came on to bowl, Kaarthick brought up his fifth Test half century with a glorious cover drive and then Jaffer brought up the 100 of the innings (32.3 overs) playing Anderson through the vacant third slip.
He soon brought up his own half century, albeit with a streaky edge off the same bowler.
Two more runs and Kaarthick joined Jaffer in the pavilion as Panesar dealt a blow with the first delivery after tea. Kaarthick perished trying to work it towards the leg only to offer a bat-pad catch to Alastair Cook at short leg.
After the openers had laid the foundation, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid erased the deficit and took the score past 200-mark, milking the English attack with consummate ease.
Dravid had put on 97 runs with Tendulkar when he played a Panesar delivery away from his body and Ian Bell took a smart catch at short extra cover to cut short his knock, which included five boundaries.
Ganguly opened his account with a glorious four off Panesar and would resume tomorrow hoping to get some runs under his belt.
Earlier on a bright sunny morning, it took India just 45 minutes to drop curtain on England’s first innings after the hosts had resumed at 167 for seven.
England’s last three wickets added another 31 runs before the innings terminated.
Left-hander Sidebottom batted dourly to remain not out for 18 in his 57-minute stay at the wicket.
Indian bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan, who made the early damage yesterday, was the most successful among the Indian bowlers.
Zaheer took four wikckts for just 59, while ace leg spinner Anil Kumble finished with three or 32. Kerala pacer S Sreesanth and Uttar Pradesh seamer Rudra Pratap Singh could not any more wicket.