Dravid Scores 34th 100, But Broad Picks Up Six

A six-wicket haul, including a first hat-trick in Test cricket by Stuart Broad all but overshadowed Rahul Dravid’s fighting century on the second day of the second Test match at Trent Bridge.

After resuming from their score at lunch of 117 for two, Sachin Tendulkar was snared early by Broad. Tendulkar, who had come out with a fairly positive mindset, tried to cut Broad, but all he managed to get was a bottom-edge through to the slips.

Suresh Raina joined Dravid but was there at the crease for a short while before playing a loose stroke to the gully fielder. He was caught off James Anderson for 12 and only managed to watch his partner get to a well-compiled half-century.

Yuvraj Singh should have followed Raina soon after that, but his edge wasn’t held in the gully region by Kevin Pietersen and that allowed India to get away. With the English quick bowlers having bowled all morning, Yuvraj soon settled down and when the spinners came on, he took full toll.

At the other end, Dravid played one of his more classy innings. He would go on to get to a record-equalling 34 Test match centuries that puts him at par with Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara, but more importantly, he refused to be cowered over by the quality of the bowling, cramps from the long stint at the crease and a few blows to his body. India had got themselves into a rather strong 267 for four by the time he got to his century.

England had begun to look listless in the field and were searching for some inspiration. It came from the same man who had given them some hope on the first day, Broad. If it was his batting that allowed the English to come back into the game on the previous day, today it was his bowling that kept the home team in hunt.

He first had Yuvraj edging him to the slips before he got rid of MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar in a space of three balls to pull the mat from under India. A potential lead of at least 150 was cut short to 67 as Dravid (117) soon followed them to the pavilion and the Indians were bowled out for 288.

By the time the stumps were drawn, England had lost the wicket of Alastair Cook for five and trundled along to 24 for one.

With 43 more to get, the English would look to wipe out the lead as quickly as possible and get to at least 250 ahead. India, on the other hand, would know that Jonathon Trott may not bat in the second innings because of a shoulder injury and would look to restrict their lead to around 150. Another tough, gritty day awaits us on Sunday!