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White's
maiden Test ton puts England well ahead
Ahemdabad,
December 12: Dropped
catches proved India's undoing as England held all the aces by first
piling up 407 and then accounting for two Indian wickets on day two of the
second Test at Ahmedabad. England got rid of Deep Dasgupta (17) and SS Das
(41) towards the end of play. At stumps India on 71/2 were trailing by 336
runs with Dravid on 5 and Tendulkar on 2.
Continuing
from their overnight score of 277/6, England's lower order prospered
thanks to two dropped catches by Deep Dasgupta and one by Anil Kumble.
In spite of a seven-wicket haul by Kumble, the English batsmen managed to
milk the other Indian bowlers for runs. Harbhajan Singh looked ineffective
and India missed the services of a third specialist spinner in Sharandeep
Singh. Hussain and his men might have considered themselves unlucky on day
one when two decisions went against them but had little to complain as
India floored three catches.
Craig White coming at number six scored a magnificent 121, his maiden test
hundred comprising 12 hits to the fence and two towering sixes. White
should have been dismissed on 44 when Harbhajan Singh got him to edge but
Dasgupta who has been having a very ordinary time behind the wickets
botched up the opportunity. The catch was sharp but playing at the highest
level, Dasgupta was expected to hold on to the catch.
With Kumble and Harbhajan failing to get a breakthrough, Ganguly went for
the new ball only to see Srinath belted for six runs in the over. With the
score reading 318/6, Srinath came back well to induce an edge from White
but once again Dasgupta made a mess of a regulation catch. To add insult
to injury, White hammered the next delivery for a boundary. There was more
disappointment in store for Srinath as the next ball was hooked by White
to square leg, where Kumble failed to hold on to the catch.
With Dame Luck beaming on the Englishmen, White survived another major
scare as well when a delivery from Javagal Srinath rolled against the foot
of the leg stump without dislodging a bail. White soon brought up the
hundred partnership with James Foster by steering a ball from the Srinath
down to the backward point boundary.
The partnership between Foster and White was no longer a mild irritant but
was getting under the skin of the Indians. Kumble once again got the vital
breakthrough for India when he had Foster brilliantly caught by a leaping
Tendulkar at mid-wicket. Foster made 40 from 120 balls but more
importantly struck a 105-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Giles
managed to hang around with White till lunch with England comfortably
placed at 356/7. England had every reason to feel on top after they were
180/5 at one point.
Craig White played the innings of his life as he scored a superbly timed
maiden ton coming at number seven. The tenacious Englishmen kept the
Indian spinners at bay, defending and the attacking in the same breath.
White took his time to reach his maiden Test hundred but he eventually got
to the coveted figure by nudging a single.
Kumble was the pick of the Indian bowlers, picking 7 wickets for 115 runs,
though his performance was overshadowed by Craig White's maiden test
hundred. Srinath bowled his heart out but was unlucky as catches were
dropped off his bowling. Srinath's exasperation came to the fore when he
thanked the heavens after Dasgupta finally managed to hold on to an edge
off the bat of Dawson.
Day three promises absorbing cricket as India bat low down with Sehwag
coming at number seven.
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