[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

There was some stray talk about Sachin having gotten out to a NO ball. I couldn't watch the replay. Any idea if that's true ?

I too have not managed to watch the replay. But I don't think that was the case, because if it was a no-ball, it would be headlines for some news channels!! It was just clever bowling from Graeme Swann.

One HAS to appreciate the temperament of Chetheshwar Pujara

[Swanand Inamdar]

Pujara completes his maiden double ton!

Ind at 510 for 6.

Edit: Make that 510 for 7. R Ashwin falls for 23. IMO, about time Ind declared their first innings.

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Pujara completes his maiden double ton!

Ind at 510 for 6.

Edit: Make that 510 for 7. R Ashwin falls for 23. IMO, about time Ind declared their first innings.

They'll declare with an hour or 10 overs to spare. They'll want a few English wickets before EOD.

Edit: Hang on. They may not last that long. 519/8. Ojha just in. 2 to go.

[Swanand Inamdar]

^Precisely why I said, they should declare. Only 23 overs to go before EOD.
Gives us a chance to scalp a wicket or two.

[vinu_h]

One of the better days India has had in a while. 41/3 in 18. Hope they get all 20 of them before 500.

Great job India !!!

[Rufus_M]

England getting a taste of Indian medicine on the second day of the first match!! Would be fun to read UK media news :-)

[vinu_h]

106/7 in 50. Follow on likely.

46.5 Ashwin to Prior, FOUR, Zaheer has dropped him. This would have been one of the most embarrassing dismissals of all time. Big juicy full toss pulled straight down Zaheer's throat at deep midwicket. Spilled. And Sehwag has a nice laugh at all this. "This was the mystery ball". A legbreak

This mystery ball thing got some coverage in the media; interviews and articles. How is this different from the 'doosra' ?

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

106/7 in 50. Follow on likely.

This mystery ball thing got some coverage in the media; interviews and articles. How is this different from the 'doosra' ?

This was in the news from the last week. Ashwin had told reporters that he had developed a 'mystery ball' to unleash on England. I find it similar to a leg break.

Needless to say England laughed off all the hype around the mystery ball!!

[Rufus_M]

England close day 3 at 111-0 (second innings). They still trail India by 219 runs. India still in command. Will be exciting to see how it shapes up tomorrow.

[champ27]

All this talk of "mystery ball" is just hype. With already so much technology, there's hardly any mystery left. And as Muralitharan said there's nothing called a mystery ball, there are only two broad categories of deliveries one that goes away and the other that comes back in. May be we can add one more, One that does not spin and goes on straight.

Anyway coming back to the game, Eng now seem to have found their feet. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. I think we will see a big innings from cook, though I would love to see him fall early.

[PPS]

Can somebody describe what happened today??
There is no telecast of entertainment & sports channels here in Mumbai!

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by PPS

Can somebody describe what happened today??
There is no telecast of entertainment & sports channels here in Mumbai!

England now have a lead of 10 runs in their second innings. A brilliant display of batting by Alistair Cook & Matt Prior. They ended the fourth day with 340/5 with Cook 168* & Prior 84*.

Lots of bad decisions by the umpires in this test match which could have been averted if DRS was in place. So much for the BCCI's stand on DRS!!

India need to get the remaining 5 wickets by lunch. Chasing anything more than 200 would be difficult on 5th day.

[champ27]

So, Cook did go on to make a big one and still undefeated. He has looked the best bet for England so far.

I see the test match headed for a draw unless England goes through a dramatic collapse. Remember their tail is one of the most tenacious of all the teams which means India have a tough job at hand.

[vinu_h]

Victory is less than an hour away. Breaking partnerships is usually a very difficult thing to do but not for Ojha.

I hope Cook gets the Man of the Match award. He really deserves it.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by champ27

He has looked the best bet for England so far.

Originally Posted by vinu_h

I hope Cook gets the Man of the Match award. He really deserves it.

IMO, if Cook maintains his fitness and motivation, he will surely be an all time test great for England. He is just 28 years old, and already has 21 test centuries and more than 6.5k test runs at an average of almost 48 under his belt.

Cheers,
Vikram