England in command despite losing Trescothick

Ahmedabad, India, December 14: Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain steadied England with a 76-run second wicket stand on the penultimate day of the second cricket Test against India here on Friday.

Butcher and skipper Hussain were not out on 40 each as England tightened their grip on the match, reaching 97-1 at lunch for an overall lead of 213 runs.

England, hoping to square the three-Test series following their defeat in the first match at Mohali, kept looking for runs despite losing an early wicket to keep up the pressure on the hosts.

England lost opener Marcus Trescothick in the day's fourth over after having resumed their second innings at 15 for no loss.

The left-handed opener, who had made 99 in the first innings, added two to his overnight score of 10 before pulling fast bowler Javagal Srinath to Shiv Sunder Das, who took a diving catch at short square-leg.

Hussain survived some anxious moments against Srinath as he twice edged the bowler early in his innings, but the ball did not carry to wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta and then first-slip Rahul Dravid.

The England skipper, however, did not cease playing shots, lofting leg-spinner Anil Kumble straight for the first six of the innings. He has also hit three boundaries in his unbeaten 71-ball knock.

Butcher also looked in punishing mood, using his feet well against Kumble and firmly driving through the covers and then square of the wicket for successive boundaries.

The left-handed opener has so far struck four boundaries in his 97-ball knock.

The Indian bowlers looked unimpressive in the morning session, with neither seamers nor spinners troubling Butcher and Hussain as England scored 82 in two hours.