India snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat

The first Test between England and India has been a great advertisement for Test cricket. It was an absorbing contest aided by a marvellous wicket which gave assistance to bowlers if they made use of the conditions and helped the batsman that had patience and skill to overcome the testing conditions.

The batsman on both sides were meant to dominate against two relatively young and inexperienced bowling attacks. In reality both sets of bowlers came out with more plaudits as England's third string attack showed discipline and control and bowled well as a unit and the Indian bowlers after an indifferent start came back very strongly. The famed Indian middle order faltered yet again when the pressure was on and failed to deliver the goods. It was left to the impressive Karthik and Dhoni in the second innings to help save the game for India. England can be indebted to Strauss in the first innings and the brilliant Piertersen in the second innings who played a very watchful innings initially and then changed gears latterly to race to a century. His extended celebrations indicated what it meant to him in an innings he described as his best yet.

I went to the match on the final day hoping to catch some of the action despite the gloomy forecast. The game was nicely balanced at the start of the day but two quick wickets meant that the run chase was not on and India would have to battle it out to save the game before the rain came. As it was the rain did not come until late afternoon and India will be thankful to a good partnership between Dhoni and Laxman in the morning. After lunch Laxman departed, opening up an end which England exploited and there was a clatter of wickets. It was a very tense and absorbing session as the clouds started to gather and it became decidedly colder. The tailenders played some silly strokes which did not help their cause and Dhoni did his best to take most of the strike. Dhoni led a charmed life as he tried to play an innings out of character for him and I found it amazing how he played risky attacking shots when he was not looking to score. That could easily brought about his downfall and meant certain defeat for India.

The array of Indian fans were very vocal in the support of their team all day but the tension of the final few overs even silenced them. The umpires met constantly to discuss the gloomy light and Vaughan took off the seamers and brought himself and Panesar in to lengthen proceedings. By this stage I was literally shivering from the cold but could not bear to leave the action. The Indian dressing room also looked very tense next to me as they too were helpless to do anything. Sreesanth survived a very close LBW decision in the final few overs and replays showed that the ball would have clipped the bails. It seemed just a matter of time before bad light and rain stopped the play and all the Indians were praying for rain and England were just hoping that they could snare the last wicket before the rain robbed them. When play was stopped due to bad light and early tea was taken, it was met with big cheers and relief by the Indian players and fans and a look of frustration on English players and fans as they had come so near to winning the match. It did not look like the skies would clear but we all hung around just in case there was yet more to come in this fascinating encounter. As it was, after a momentary lapse, the rain came down and the match was drawn.

India will count themselves lucky to escape with a draw as if play had continued the odds were on England to win the match and on balance they would have deserved the win in a close contest. As it is both teams head to the next Test on level terms and both will take a lot out of this match. India will be hoping that their batsman come into form, as they did on the last tour in a similar position and put England under pressure. They will know that this draw was an escape and will want to cash in on their fortune.The bowlers will have gained a lot and can only perform better with initial nerves out of the way and more familiar with the conditions. It remains to be seen if the middle order, which was in its prime last time around can have a happy swan song.

England will be hoping that their young and impressive bowling attack can do it all again in the next game. They might be faced with a harder task as the conditions may not be as helpful and the batting may be stronger. Their batsman also need to perform better and make bigger scores to put India under pressure.

It is all set up for another fascinating encounter at Trent Bridge, one of my favourite grounds. As I left rainy Lords, I could not remember feeling this cold before and it almost seemed like winter in the wet and gloomy conditions but I was glad that I tasted some of the absorbing atmosphere at this old and traditional ground.