Cricket:England again dominated India with bat and ball on the third day of the fourth Test, defying the Oval rain to stay on course for a series whitewash.
Ian Bell (235) completed his maiden double-hundred in the morning of the and then after bad weather wiped out the afternoon and forced a declaration on 591 for six, England’s pace attack made immediate inroads.
Rahul Dravid (57no) and Sachin Tendulkar, who today became the most productive partnership in Test history, dug in from 13 for two during a determined stand of 55.
But even after Dravid’s 93-ball half-century, Graeme Swann (three for 27) ensured a close-of-play 103 for five put India in a vulnerable if not yet perilous position.
They were in instant trouble when Virender Sehwag, who made a king pair in his team’s innings defeat at Edgbaston last week, this time dispatched two of his trademark off-side fours off the back foot before falling to the last ball of the first over from James Anderson.
England’s pace spearhead produced a delivery which snaked in rather than away and bamboozled Sehwag lbw.
Dravid, opening in place of Gautam Gambhir after the latter suffered concussion falling in the field yesterday, was joined only briefly by VVS Laxman.
Stuart Broad put one in the wickets column at the start of an impressive new-ball spell when a little extra bounce and away movement through the air – after the ball had pitched found Laxman’s outside edge.
India were batting under cloudless skies, but Dravid and Tendulkar needed all their experience and world-class skill to see off Broad in particular.
He hit Tendulkar on the helmet, ducking into a bouncer before he had scored, and again on the body.
Then just when it seemed the ‘old firm’ had drawn England’s sting, Swann struck with a little extra bounce as Tendulkar shaped to sweep and lobbed a catch off glove and arm over the wicketkeeper’s head for Anderson to run round from slip and take an easy catch.
Suresh Raina tried to close out the day with Dravid but managed only a 29-ball duck, before Matt Prior brought off a smart stumping off Swann who then made short work of nightwatchman Ishant Sharma too.