England are well and truly on their way to becoming the world’s number one ranked Test nation after taking a 2-0 series lead with a 319-run victory over India in the Second Test at Trent Bridge.
England’s bowlers were once again crucial to the victory, claiming all 20 of India’s wickets, while restricting the visitors to scores of 288 and 158. So far this series, India’s famed batting line-up are yet to reach 300.
Meanwhile, India’s bowlers managed to pick up 20 wickets in this Test, after only claiming 14 in the opener, but their inability to remove England’s tail cost them again.
England were behind after the first innings, posting only 221, before India made 288. However, India were in a good position at 5-267 before a collapse instigated by the brilliant Stuart Broad (6-46) who claimed a hat-trick.
That spell kept England in the game although they might have been worried at 2-57 in the second innings, however great knocks from Ian Bell (159), Kevin Pietersen (63), Eoin Morgan (70) and Matt Prior (73) steadied the ship and put the hosts in control. Then when tailenders Tim Bresnan (90) and Broad (44) put on nearly one hundred, India’s hearts sank.
They never recovered in the second innings when chasing 477, with their top order collapsing to be 6-55, with Sachin Tendulkar the only resistance with 56. Bresnan ripped through India with 5-48 before player of the match Broad claimed the final wicket to secure the victory.
Despite another emphatic victory, England skipper Andrew Strauss wasn’t thinking about a 4-0 whitewash nor the number one world ranking.
“We don’t look at it like that. All we’re looking to do is turn up at Edgbaston to try to win that Test match,” Strauss told reporters after the second Test victory.
“We’ve had to work very hard to win these two and we don’t expect it to be any different from that.”
However, Strauss said he had been impressed by his team’s performances so far and had gained from that.
“One of the real measures of a good side is whether they are able to come back from difficult circumstances,” he said.
“Most sides are pretty good when they’ve got everything their own way. But in the last two Test matches we’ve had to dig pretty deep and it gives me a lot of pride to see guys putting their hands up and delivering when it matters.
“It also fills me with a lot of confidence for the future that we can go on and become a better side.”
India, who were without Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan due to injuries in the second Test, will need to rebound at Edgbaston and that will be challenging after a demoralising start to the series.
“The preparation needs to be slightly different and that’s why we are saying the next 10 days are very important,” India captain MS Dhoni said.
Dhoni had blamed misfortune for the first Test defeat after midgame injuries and illness to key players, but appeared to concede his side had been outplayed by England at Trent Bridge.
Back in India, the critics have been brutal towards the team claiming they aren’t hungry to remain number one, nor have they prepared adequately.
The Times of India wrote: “They carried some players with niggles and injuries, and some others, like Harbhajan Singh, by virtue of past reputation. The truth is that this Indian team doesn’t seem to have a champion’s strength of character. The statistical miracle, sadly, is over.”
So far, it seems it is.