23:02
Karthick Dharman
Kevin Pietersen scored a double ton helping England to a commanding 474/8 despite Praveen Kumar's fiver on the second day of the first Test against India at Lord's on Friday. Watch KP's 200 and MSD bowl | Score
At stumps, India were 17/0 in 6 overs with openers Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund at the crease.
Though KP's ton and Praveen Kumar's five-wicket haul were the highlight of the day, it was India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who managed to grab the maximum eyeballs.
And it wasn't his keeping, but his bowling that hit the limelight - yes, the India skipper, and one of the most successful wicketkeepers that India has produced, bowled on the day.
Soon after the lunch when a few overs were left for the new ball to be taken, Dhoni pulled off his gloves and took to bowling to fill the void left by Zaheer Khan, who pulled his hamstring on Thursday.
The change also saw Rahul Dravid keeping wickets. And Dhoni could have sent Pietersen back into the pavilion if the DRS hadn't ruled otherwise. On-field umpire Billy Bowden had given him out when the ball seemed to have nicked off his bat on to the keeper Rahul Dravid. But the reviews ruled against it and Pietersen went on to complete his ton.
England started with the overnight score of 127/2 with Pietersen and Jonathan Trott in the middle.
The clear and sunny sky aided the batsmen as the ball seemed to come on to the bat unlike Day 1 when the ball was swinging a lot more with the nip in the air following the morning showers.
Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen were going strongly against India and the duo had put on 98 runs for the third wicket when Praveen Kumar struck.
And it was the swing, albeit only a little, that did the trick. The ball kept low moved in and struck against Trott's pads. He fell for 70 and India got the crucial third wicket on 160.
Post Trott's dismissal, Pietersen took up the challenge and went ahead consolidating the innings. At lunch England were cruising at 217/3 with Pietersen and Ian Bell in the middle.
The second session saw Kumar strike again and this was post Dhoni's cameo with the ball and Pietersen's 18th Test ton.
Kumar couldn't get Pietersen, but he got rid of his partner Ian Bell with a ball that took the edge of his bat to land in keeper Dhoni's gloves behind the stumps at 270/4. Bell scored 45.
But Kumar's over was far from over and two balls later he got England's fifth wicket with new man Eoin Morgan walking back on a duck. From 270/3 England were down to 270/5, but they still had a good batsman in Matt Prior.
At tea, England were sitting pretty on 305/5 with Pietersen and Matt Prior at the crease.
The third session too was dominated by Pietersen even though Prior scored a fine 71 before going down to Kumar, who finished with a five-wicket haul with Stuart Broad being his last victim on the day.
Kumar did take up the challenge in the absence of senior pro Zaheer Khan and claimed his maiden five-wicket haul at Lord's, yet the Indians were missing their pace-spearhead.
No wonder it had prompted 'Captain Courageous' to shun his gloves and take to bowling.
Posted in: Breaking News
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