India came out on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test match with positive intent on a pitch that afforded little lesser than what it had on the first day. As a result, the tourists had reached 117 for two by the end of the first session, in reply to England’s 221 all out.
Laxman half-century takes India past 100
India had been accused of going into their shell on the fifth day of the Lord’s Test match in a bid to play out for a draw and they were not going to make the same mistake again. Both the unbeaten batsmen from overnight, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, were lethal on anything loose, that resulted in four successive boundaries.
Over time, they settled down with Dravid assuming the role of the anchor while Laxman exhibiting aggression whenever he could.
There were some deliveries that misbehaved, like the huge appeal against Laxman for a caught-behind off James Anderson but neither the on-field umpire nor the DRS helped England get the decision in their favour. Another one from Tim Bresnan jagged back into Dravid and hit him on his wrist, necessitating immediate medical attention.
Laxman continued his good form to get to his second successive half-century before an away going delivery from Bresnan took an edge off his bat and the wicket-keeper Matt Prior completed the catch. The pair had added 93, in what was the best partnership of the game thus far.
Sachin Tendulkar joined Dravid and saw through to the end of the session without any further loss. Dravid was unbeaten on 44 as India will now look to build on this start.
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