Nottingham, Aug 1 (IANS) All-round performance by Tim Bresnan on the fourth day helped England script an emphatic 319-run victory over India in the second cricket Test Monday and surge ahead to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Bresnan scored 90 runs in the second innings as England piled up 544 in their second innings to set a world record target of 478 for India. Brensan then bowled a fiery spell picking up five for 48 to bowl out India for 158 runs at Trent Bridge.
But the man of the match was local boy Stuart Broad, whose fighting 64, helped England to recover from 124/8 to 221 in the first innings. Broad, who had a match haul of eight for 76, also bagged his maiden hat-trick to bowl out India for 288 in the first innings.
It was England’s most comprehensive win in recent times and they can snatch the No.1 crown from India if they win the series by a margin of two Test matches.
India were completely bullied by England on the fourth day as the home team scored freely adding 103 runs in 19.2 overs, to their overnight score of 441 for six, in the first session. Bresnan and Matt Prior (73) blunted the Indian attack adding 119 runs for the seventh wicket before Broad came up with a cameo of 32-ball 44.
India, who suffered a 196-run loss in the first Test in Lord’s, lost first-innings century-maker Rahul Dravid (6) who snicked Broad to be caught behind, just at the stroke of lunch break. And then on, wickets tumbled at regular intervals.
Only Sachin Tendulkar (56) and Harbhajan Singh (46) offered some resistance to England, who made a mockery of India’s status as No.1 Test side of the world. Besides the duo, Praveen Kumar (25) was the only other batsman who got to double figures.
Other Indian batsmen failed to adjust to the fast track at Nottingham.
V.V.S. Laxman (4) saw his off-stump flying off the ground by an excellent delivery from James Anderson. Abhinav Mukund (3), who nearly got a king pair, was done in by a bouncer from Bresnan that flew to Andrew Strauss at first slip. Ironically it was Bresnan, who had failed to fasten on to a sharp slip-catch off James Anderson that saw the young opener avoiding a king pair.
Bresnan used his short ball cleverly to dismiss both Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
Raina perished in his attempt to pull but edged to substitute Scott Elstone at fine-leg while Yuvraj tried his best with one hand to fend off a short-pitched stuff but gloved to Alastair Cook, who took a diving catch backwards at silly point. Mahendra Singh Dhoni padded Bresnan’s full-length ball cutting back in to hit middle and was given LBW.
Earlier, Bresnan and Prior, the two overnight batsmen, made their intentions clear right from the first over. Bresnan got to his fifty in an awkward fashion after the third delivery of the day from Sreesanth kicked up from just short of a length, hit the handle of Bresnan’s bat, and flew over gully to third man for four. But Bresnan showed his class by driving Sreesanth’s fifth delivery between the bowler and the mid-on.
Prior, who cracked a century at Lord’s, hit Praveen Kumar (4/124) for two consecutive fours in the next over but the street-smart pacer picked up the England wicketkeeper with an excellent delivery that swung away sharply to Dhoni, who almost fluffed the catch.
But Bresnan looked in fluent touch. He cut, drove and pulled efficiently to frustrate the Indian bowlers in his 82-run stand with Broad. Kumar picked up Bresnan and Broad off consecutive deliveries, but James Anderson denied him a hat-trick.
