Pietersen double century carries England to impregnable near-500

Kevin Pietersen smashed his best score against India to propel England to 474 for eight in their first innings of the first Test match at Lord’s. With Zaheer Khan under the pump with his injury, the Indians looked almost hapless and signs of that slow start that they have been associated with was there for all to see.

Much interest at the start of the second day of the first Test match between India and England revolved around the fitness of Zaheer Khan and whether he would take field. The Indian fans would have been disappointed by his non-appearance. A later press release, almost 18 hours later than it should have appeared, did speak of how ‘Mr. Zaheer Khan’ would not be bowling in the first innings but would make a comeback in the second, but by then, it was clear to all, that he was not going to be around.

These are the occasions when going in with a strategy using a four-pronged bowling attack backfire big time. Without too many penetrative options remaining, the Indians had to remain content with defending for most part of the session. While the wicket of Jonathon Trott was a definite plus, there wasn’t too much doubt that the English were lining themselves up for something big.

Resuming on 127 for two from the first day, Pietersen started off positively with his attempts to mess up Ishant Sharma’s line by moving outside the off-stump and getting himself some runs. And till the very end of the innings, he kept messing up with the Indian bowling with his tenacity and aggression mixed in one.

Praveen Kumar, as has been his wont in his international career, continued to bowl like an ox at the other end, sending down more than 40 overs in all, but without any support at the other end, the Indians struggled to maintain consistency in their wicket-taking.

Praveen did end up with a five-wicket haul at the end of the day, but by then the English had scored 474, effectively shutting the Indian chances out of winning the game.

In fact, Praveen scalped all the first five wickets that fell on the day, including that of Jonathon Trott (70) and Matt Prior (71), before Suresh Raina got the better of Graeme Swann’s defences and bowled him.

In the end, Pietersen got to his double century, the third of his career, before England declared their innings. India battled through their six overs to end the day on 17 without loss.