The Second Test in Mumbai was a must win after their struggle in Ahmedabad, and England duly delivered thanks to the outstanding Monty Panesar.
After their mauling by India- losing the First Test by nine wickets- along with their series defeat to South Africa in England and subsequent loss their number one Test status, Coach Andy Flower and his troops were under pressure to perform.
It was clear that the introduction of Monty Panesar was a huge lift for the England camp. On an Indian pitch that turned square and in humid conditions which favoured spin bowlers, the Three Lions again faced conditions which were evidently used wisely by MS Dhoni in the First Test. Alastair Cook had only four recognised bowlers at his disposal in Ahmedabad with James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan all being seamers alongside the one spinner in Graeme Swann. Samit Patel and Kevin Pietersen had to be used to make up for the team failing to pick Panesar-Patel bowling 31 overs with figures of 1-96 and Pietersen at 1-25 from his eight overs. It is hard to understand why they did not choose Panesar over Patel.
However, Flower and captain Cook did not make the same mistake second time round and Panesar showed why they should have picked him in the First Test. Bowling in tandem with off-spinner Swann, Panesar helped restrict the hosts to 327 all out. Monty’s 5-129 from 47 overs had given the visitors a chance, not to mention an incredible 4-70 from Swann in his 34.1 overs.
Cheteshwar Pujara showed his class yet again for the home side- the 24-year old right handed batsman hit 135 from 350 balls. It was an innings which did not just show classic stroke-making, but valuable time and patience. To be able to bat for such a long time shows incredible courage to maintain such a high standard, and pundits have witnessed a mix between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in the number 3.
Cook, leading by example in England’s reply, continued his impressive form by scoring a century of his own along with the highly-profiled Pietersen, who silenced his critics after months of criticism pre and post the South Africa test series.
Cook and Pietersen racked up a 206 run partnership for the third wicket, a fine response to the first Test’s shambles-Pietersen must now pick up from where he left off in the third Test. England have lacked a free-flowing run-scorer in Pietersen, and his valuable runs were sorely missed.
How much of a statement did Panesar and Swann make in India’s second innings response? Together, the spin twins’ figures of 10-124 showed a remarkable effort to bowl out India for just 142. Many congratulations go to Panesar for finishing with match figures of 11-210- An 11 wicket haul is hard to collect in any type of format, especially in India, with their backs against the wall to win a Test and stay in the series Panesar can be so proud of such an achievement.
A fine ten wicket victory for the tourists was sealed by an aggressive partnership between Cook and the impressive Nick Compton to tie the series at 1-1 going in to the third Test in Kolkata.
The penultimate Test could see ‘fit-again’ Steven Finn return to replace Vice-captain Stuart Broad, who has now failed to take a single wicket in the first two Tests. Finn has been unavailable due to a thigh injury, but he pulled through a thorough net session at Eden Gardens on Monday having bowled well in a practice match in midweek. Despite Broad picking up 40 Test wickets this calendar year, he has struggled for form in India.
England cannot afford to rest easy as they look to regain their number one status from rivals South Africa as soon as possible. The South Africans made a statement of their own by demolishing Australia in Perth this week and will not be giving up top spot without a fight.
