James Anderson picked two of the three wickets that have fallen today © Getty Images
James Anderson claimed four wickets on Day 1 © Getty Images

 

Jul 17, 2014

 

Catch Live scorecard of India (IND) vs England (ENG) here

(After a draw at Trent Bridge, India will be up against England on a much livelier wicket at Lord’s. Catch live cricket score and live updates of the match here)

Catch Live Blog of Day Two of the second Test here

 

 

A fine day for India. On a lush green wicket, India were always going to be in trouble. But this is a top-class innings from Ajinkya Rahane scoring his second ton to get his name on the Lord’s Honours Board. India were 145 for seven at one stage. Bhuvneshwar Kumar yet again starred for India.

 

 

Ishant gets cheeky boundaries off Stuart Broad. India will come out to bat tomorrow looking to get to 300.

 

 

 

 

 

What an innings from Rahane. On a green wicket, Rahane has fought his way to get his name on the Lord’s Honours Board. 96 at Durban, 118 at Wellington and ton here. But the joy is shortlived as Anderson plucks a return catch. A fine innings comes to an end.
OUT! A Rahane c&b Anderson 103(154)

 

 

James Anderson won’t appreciate this one bit. He pitches it up and Rahane lofts it straight over his head for a six.

 

 

A fine innings comes to an end. That one from Broad kept low and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is bowled. Earlier in the over he had hit a crisp cut shot for four. The 90-run partnership comes to an end.
OUT! Bhuvneshwar b Broad 36(84)

 

 

Anderson looks frustrated. He starts off with the new ball and Rahane hits the fifth ball past mid-off for four. Rahane is looking set for a ton at Lord’s. The partnership is now worth 82.

 

 

 

Easiest time to bat for the batsmen against Plunkett and Stokes. They’ve been peppered with short deliveries to no success. Bhuvneshwar played a neat cover drive off Stokes in the 76th over and in the following over, Rahane pulled Plunkett for four even as two men were deployed in the deep for the same shot. England are letting the momentum slip with this partnership blossoming.

 

 

 

 

Fifty partnership between Bhuvneshwar and Rahane. India are cruising through. The wicket is changing its colour and not helping the seamers in lateral movement. India would be itching to get at least 300 to feel safe in this wicket.

 

 

 

 

What an innings from Rahane. Scored a good 90 against South Africa on a tough wicket at Durban and now a fifty shows the technique he has to fight out on a tough wicket. This is his third Test fifty, gets to the mark with a forehand slap over covers for four. It was short and wide, there to be hit. But requires some confidence to deal with the bounce and play a shot with authority. Ends the over from Plunkett with a boundary

 

 

It has one once again come down to a stable innings from Bhuvneshwar. Has shown solid technique. Meanwhile, Rahane is inching closer to a fifty. This will be equivalent to a ton considering the nature of the wicket. Has scored most of his runs through mid-off and cover.

 

 

 

 

It’s Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali bowling in tandem. The batsmen have been crawling. They are facing comfortably against Moeen while Stokes has been causing trouble from the other end. Another 25 overs remaining in the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s with James Anderson and striking after session breaks? He has done it again. Stuart Binny is out leg-before. The ball angled in and hit him high on the pads. The umpire raises his finger but replays show the ball was passing over the stumps. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets off the mark with a flick for four.
OUT! S Binny lbw Anderson 9(19)

 

 

Two runs coming from the first over post tea from Anderson. Moeen Ali continues from the other end and concedes two in the over.

 

 

It’s tea on first day. Except for the four hammered over the bowler’s head by Binny, things have been on the slow track for India. 200 here would be a big achievement for India. Cook persisting with Moeen Ali as the batsmen are trying to take chances against him. This session goes for England. Four wickets and just 67 runs coming from it. All the five bowlers have picked a wicket each.

 

 

India sliding further post lunch. Fourth wicket to go down this session. Jadeja comes way forward and Moeen’s straighter delivery hits him on the pads. Dharmasena raises his finger straight away.
OUT! R Jadeja lbw Moeen 3(11)

 

 

 

 

Stat: Stuart broad has completed 250 Test wickets

It’s full and straight, perfect length to catch Dhoni off-guard. Stuart Broad picks his first wicket of the match. India are slipping after a hard fought first session. Ravindra Jadeja is the new batsman in. This is the fourth time Broad has dismissed Dhoni in Tests.
OUT! MS Dhoni c Prior b Broad 1(17)

 

Rahane looks settled whereas MS Dhoni is still looking circumspect. Broad beats him as the skipper looks to have a go at a wide delivery. On the next delivery, the ball nips back in and hits his pads. Loud appeal for leg–before but umpire Bruce Oxenford is not interested.

 

 

 

Stat: James Anderson with 16 wickets has the most number of scalps at Lord’s against India going past Alec Bedser

 

It’s a rare sight to see a bowler getting through Pujara’s defence cleanly. This is one of those.

 

 

 

A solid innings from Pujara comes to an end. Ben Stokes angles it in and goes through the defence of the batsman. A disappointing end to a patient innings. He looked the most comfortable of all batsmen today and India certainly in trouble. MS Dhoni is the new batsman in. Going by Dhoni’s technique, this is not the pitch for a defensive game. Manages to get his bat away from the line of ball at the last moment and survives the first ball.
OUT! C Pujara b Stokes 28(117)

 

 

The first ball off Plunkett in the 38th over is driven by Pujara for four. Since then it has been a quiet phase of play. Pujara is as usual watchful and Rahane too is following the same plan. The England pacers have bowled fuller since lunch but not consistently so.

 

 

Two boundaries in the over for Rahane. The first one was pitched up and moving away by broad and Rahane dragged his bat and reached for the shot. Lucky for him that it came from the middle off his bat. The next one was pitched up and punched straight off the backfoot.

 

 

After an edgy start, Rahane seems to have settled in while Pujara continues to march ahead getting most of the strike in the last three overs. The sun has come out and the pitch isn’t as threatening as it was in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

India once again lose a wicket post a session break. This time it is the key wicket of Virat Kohli. Anderson gets the ball to seam away. Pitches it in line and squares him up, Kohli had to play and Prior finally manages to catch it. Time for England to make early inroads. He adopts a different length for Rahane, forcing him to commit on the front-foot and forcing him to attempt at it. Rahane gets off the mark with a single playing towards square-leg.
STAT: James Anderson is now the leading wicket-taker at Lord’s with 70 wickets going past Ian Botham (69).
V Kohli c Prior b Anderson 25(34)

 

 

First ball post lunch is a bit wayward and Pujara picks a single. Kohli adds one more with a leg-bye. Anderson continues to swing the ball away from the right-handers. Pujara is in a bit of trouble on the last ball hit on the pads off an edge, so no harm done.

 

 

 

Read the Lunch Report from Day One here

 

 

Moeen Ali bowls the last over before lunch. Dropped: The last ball before lunch was dropped by Prior. Second catch dropped in the session by him. Excellent session for India. The average here is 72/2. It was an evenly balanced session. On a green pitch, the pacers swung the ball wildly but didn’t bowl it full enough to get the desired results. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara showed good patience seeing off the first hour of play. The pitch has eased up slightly and Kohli has started off with a bang.

 

 

Stat: None since 1993 Ashes have stitched a century stand for the opening wicket against England at Lord’s

 

Positive start from Kohli. Hasn’t looked cautious here. He has been gifted with half-volleys right under his bat. The first one creamed through the covers and the now Plunkett gives one on leg-side which is guided for four. Pujara has laboured through the early phase while Kohli has gone past him in a flash.

 

 

Finally a wicket. It was more of an error from Vijay than the pitch doing any trick. This was going down the leg-side and Vijay tried to guide it away closing the face of the bat and got a leading edge which flew straight to Ballance at third slip. Virat Kohli is the new batsman and he is off the mark. Poor last delivery from Plunkett, down the leg-side and Prior barely manages to get a glove to it. Four byes.
OUT1 M Vijay c Ballance b Plunkett 24(67)

 

 

 

 

For the first time in the match, a bowler has pitched it up consistently. The fifth ball of the over was driven by Vijay. Didn’t get enough power behind it yet managed to tease the fielder till it reached the boundary. Earlier, Vijay tried to guide one past thirdman and gets a four. Lucky escape as Cook hasn’t covered the cordon, still reluctant to shut the thirdman area.

 

 

Change from the pavilion end now. Anderson with one for 11 in his eighth overs has been replaced by Ben Stokes. Pujara is in no trouble with neither the pace nor the movement. The last ball is pitched up, moves inward and Pujara gets hit on the pads. Gets a bit of edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anderson continues from the pavilion end. Starts off with a few pitched short off good length and then gets a bit fuller. But the fuller ones on the legs of the batsmen wasn’t going to trouble the batsman. The last ball was neatly flicked by Pujara for four. Seven runs from the over.

 

 

The pitch is sure to take the honours on Day One!

 

 

 

First change of bowling. Liam Plunkett replaces Stuart Broad. But the scenario overall remains the same; ball pitches on good length and easily bounces over the stumps. The runs have been tough to come by but that was predictable going by the wicket.

 

 

First runs for Pujara after 24 deliveries. Guides the ball past gully and the batsmen collect three. Vijay gets a couple as the outside edge runs past point.

 

 

After six overs, Anderson has conceded the first runs off his bowling. Vijay went for a firm push and the outside edge flew past the cordon for four. There was a huge appeal for leg-before later in the over, but umpire Kumar Dharmasena turns it down.

 

 

England have swung well since morning but the batsmen are not being forced to play at it. Vijay and Pujara have settled in leaving the ball at ease. Predictably, Pujara is the one looking comfortable on the green wicket. Vijay takes a tight single in the 10th over. The fifth ball of the over teased Pujara, pitching in line and going past the defence of the batsman. He is yet to get off the mark.

 

 

 

 

 

Well. the track is green enough to attract the eyeballs from around the world… As an opener, this is the last wicket you want’s to bat on. Seems that’s the tone of Warner’s tweet!

 

 

Matt Prior has dropped the first catch of the match. In the fourth over of the innings, Broad found Vijay’s edge and Prior couldn’t hold on to the close chance. Meanwhile Pujara is content leaving the ball outside off-stump. It’s going to be a test of patience for batsmen. There’s some bounce on the wicket which means they can leave the ball.

 

 

Stat: Anderson has equaled Ian Botham with 69 wickets at Lord’s. He has picked the most wickets in England with 230 wickets moving past Fred Trueman (229)

 

First one of the day for Anderson. That length was always going to be a problem on this wicket. Pitched it up on the middle and swung away big time. The edge carried down the slope to Garry Ballance at third slip.
S Dhawan c Ballance b Anderson 7(11)

 

 

Stuart Broad to Dhawan. The pacer his off target in his first over. Swinging it down the leg-side and Dhawan gets easy runs. He opened his account with a thick edge running towards thirdman for four. Gets four leg-byes later.

 

 

Thick cover of grass on the pitch. Maybe the curator wanted to compensate for the Trent Bridge track as well. James Anderson is all charged up. Murali Vijay takes strike and as expected Anderson gets enough swing. Vijay gets bat on ball just once.

 

 

 

 

As scheduled, Rahul Dravid rings the five-minute bell to mark the beginning of the match…

 

 

 

 

Toss: England have won the toss and have elected to bowl on this green surface. Both sides are unchanged.

 

Playing XI

India: M Vijay, S Dhawan, C Pujara, V Kohli, A Rahane, MS Dhoni (c&wk), S Binny, R Jadeja, M Shami, B Kumar, Ishant.

England: S Robson, A Cook (c), G Ballance, I Bell, J Root, M Ali, B Stokes, M Prior (wk), S Broad, J Anderson, L Plunkett.

 

Both captains keeping aside the Anderson-Jadeja row. But the pressure is on India. It’s a green wicket and for the first time in the series England will feel at home. On an average teams have managed 70-odd runs in the first session losing two wickets. India will be happy to reach there looking at the wicket.

 

 

Here is a picture of English team train at the Nursery Ground.

 

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The pitch seem to be getting less greener each and every minute!

 

 

 

 

 

Former England cricketer Isa Guha tweeted a picture of the Lord’s pitch and it looks to be a good news for bowlers!

 

 

 

 

 

Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog of the India vs England second Test at Lord’s. I am Abhijit Banare and I will be bringing the live updates of the match. It was an interesting clash at Trent Bridge which ended in a tame draw. But there were many ups and downs as both teams grabbed the momentum thanks to the respective 10th-wicket partnerships. The pitch at Nottingham was a dull affair and the curator received a lot of flak. However, things will be different at Lord’s as the wicket as some green tinge and the batsmen will certainly be tested.

 

There were many positives for India from the first Test. The bowlers were on the mark, Murali Vijay soothed the nerves of the team management over the opening conundrum and of course the all-round show of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. For England though, Joe Root’s form and the use of reverse swing by James Anderson and Stuart Broad were impressive.

 

However, there will be some tensions between both teams at the back of the Anderson-Jadeja row. Both teams have shot criticism and lodged official complaints against each other. With none willing to let go off the argument, it will be interesting to see how they manage to keep aside the controversy and focus on the game. But there will be no love lost between Anderson and the Indian team.

 

It’s unlikely that the Indian team is going to make any changes in the playing XI. According to the correspondent on ground, Gaurav Joshi, Ashwin was not an active participant during India’s net session. However, it will be interesting to see if England are forced to include left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan thinking about the absence of a specialist spinner. Catch the Preview of the match here

Squads:

India: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Varun Aaron, Pankaj Singh, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny, Mohammed Shami.

 

England: Alastair Cook (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Matt Prior (wk), Sam Robson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Simon Kerrigan.

 

Catch live score and ball-by-ball commentary of the second Test here

 

Catch all the coverage of India’s tour to England here