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| December 23, 2001 | Sunday | Shawwal 7, 1422 |
Rains continue to frustrate England
BANGALORE, Dec 22: Pacemen Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff provided England with a useful first innings lead and a scent of victory but rain continued to frustrate them in the third and final Test Saturday.
Hoggard and Flintoff grabbed two quick wickets after rain and a wet outfield delayed the start of the fourth day as India were eventually bowled out for 238 in reply to England’s 336.
It gave the tourists a 98-run first innings lead, which they extended to 131 by moving briskly to 33 without loss from 7.1 overs in their second innings, before steady drizzle forced play to be abandoned half and hour into the final session.
Openers Mark Butcher, 23 not out from 25 balls, and fellow left-hander Marcus Trescothick, nine not out, were looking to score rapidly to aid England’s quest for a series-levelling win.
Butcher drove paceman Javagal Srinath through mid-off and played him off his pads to square leg for two boundaries while Trescothick was content to support him.
But the weather interruptions meant only 15.4 overs were possible on the fourth day with more rain possible on Sunday’s final day.
England will have to rely on fine conditions and a high scoring rate when they resume Sunday if they are not to leave India ruing their 10-wicket defeat in the first Test in Mohali.
Nasser Hussain’s side ended the Indian first innings — after the hosts resumed overnight on 218 for seven — for the addition of just 20 runs.
England’s hopes of wiping out the tail had seemed to come unstuck when overnight batsmen Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were both dropped playing unconvincingly against pace.
Hoggard forced Kumble to edge to substitute Martyn Ball in the second slip, but he failed to take the catch and the ball ran to the third man fence.
Harbhajan then played an awkward pull against Flintoff but Hoggard, running in from backward square leg, failed to hold the chance to concede a single.
But, in seamer-friendly conditions, Flintoff struck with the very next ball as Kumble edged to Trescothick at second slip for 14.
Hoggard then removed Harbhajan (8) when his leading edge flew to mid-off where skipper Hussain dived forward to take a low catch and reduce India to 235 for nine.
Three runs later, Sharandeep Singh was run out going for a sharp single after pushing Hoggard to cover, Michael Vaughan swooping on the ball and throwing down the wicket at the bowler’s end.
The 24-year-old Hoggard, who struck three times to leave India struggling on the third afternoon, finished with four for 80 while Flintoff returned figures of four for 50.
Fighting half-centuries by Sachin Tendulkar (90) and Virender Sehwag (66) were the only highlights for the Indians as the rest of the batsmen struggled.
Play had only started at 2.15 p.m local time (0845 GMT) Saturday, 90 minutes past the scheduled start of the post-lunch session after overnight rain and morning drizzle had left the outfield wet.
The umpires allowed play to start after their third inspection, under overcast conditions with the flood-lights switched on.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 336 (M.P. Vaughan 64, M.R. Ramprakash 58; J. Srinath 4-73).
INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 218-7):
S.S. Das b Flintoff 28
D. Dasgupta c T’cothick b Flintoff 0
V.V.S. Laxman b Flintoff 12
S.R. Tendulkar st Foster b Giles 90
R.S. Dravid c Foster b Hoggard 3
S.C. Ganguly c Butcher b Hoggard 0
V. Sehwag c Foster b Hoggard 66
A.R. Kumble c T’cothick b Flintoff 14
Harbhajan Singh c Hussain b H’gard 8
Sharandeep Singh run out 4
J. Srinath not out 2
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-4, NB-3) 11
TOTAL (all out, 94.3 overs) 238
FALL OF WKTS: 1-8, 2-22, 3-88, 4-121,
5-121, 6-173, 7-218, 8-228, 9-235.
BOWLING: Hoggard 24.3-7-80-4; Flintoff 28-9-50-4 (2nb); Giles 34-18-74-1; White
8-2-26-0 (1nb).
ENGLAND (2nd Innings):
M.A. Butcher not out 23
M.E. Trescothick not out 9
EXTRAS (B-1) 1
TOTAL (for no wkt, 7.1 overs) 33
BOWLING (to-date): Srinath 4-0-19-0; Ganguly 3-0-12-0; Harbhajan Singh
0.1-0-1-0.—Reuters
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