Unbeaten 182 by Michael Vaughan
Faisal Shariff
A blistering unbeaten 182 by opener Michael Vaughan gave England their best start of the series as they amassed 336 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Twenty-five bowling changes by skipper Sourav Ganguly failed to stop the English assault, as the hosts seemed determined to win the series, which is level 1-1.
Morning session
An audacious start by the openers saw England, boosted by the return of Marcus Trescothick who scored a swift fifty, rocket to 113 for 1 at lunch. Even six bowling changes by Ganguly failed to push the hosts on the back-foot.
The most famous innings at The Oval has been a duck. The duck that prevented Sir Don Bradman to score four runs and end his career with an average of 100. Today, Sachin Tendulkar, the only member of the current Indian squad to have played at The Oval (12 years ago), made his hundredth appearance in a Test to cap what could be a truly surreal English summer for India.
For a man regarded as the greatest batsman of modern cricket, the fourth Test of the series fulfilled a long-standing dream -- to play a hundred Tests for India (only the fourth Indian to do so). The youngest to play a hundred Tests ever, Tendulkar will want to raise his game for the occasion.
This Test is destined for a special place in Indian Test history irrespective of what unfolds over the next five days.
"They will be a major threat but that is what Test cricket is about, testing yourself against the best," Hussain said about the Indian spinners before the game.
With spin having taken 71 wickets in the last six Tests played here, the Indian spinners pose the biggest risk to the English batsmen, who have a rather mediocre average at the ground.
For England, the return of opener Marcus Trescothick (in place of Robert Key) was reason to rejoice after losing all-rounder Andy Flintoff due for a hernia operation. Dominic Cork replaced him ahead of Ronnie Irani, as Hussain opined that Cork was the more complete package, had played against India and is fully fit.
India were forced to make one change -- swapping 'keeper Ajay Ratra for 17-year-old Parthiv Patel, who was injured.
England won the toss and on a belter of a wicket decided to bat first. Trescothick announced his comeback by driving Zaheer Khan through extra-cover off the third ball of the morning as England scored at a furious pace.
Michael Vaughan was guarded, unlike his left-handed partner, finding the fence cheekily through third man. Ajit Agarkar, sharing the new ball with Zaheer, pitched short and was despatched with élan, hooked through square leg for four. Whether it was a plan or Agarkar’s impetuosity to bang the ball short remains a mystery, but Trescothick punished the Mumbaikar, smashing three boundaries in his fifth over, to register the 50-run partnership in quick time.
Sanjay Bangar replaced Khan and swung the ball appreciably but was unlucky to miss Vaughan’s edge on the odd occasion. Ganguly employed Harbhajan into the attack inside the first hour of the morning session and saw an attempted sweep shot pass through Ratra’s legs to the fence.
Having made batting seem oh-so-easy, Trescothick coasted past his half-century with a straight drive for three. His 50 came off 67 balls, with eight boundaries, as the hosts scored at more than 4.5 an over.
Two short of the team hundred, Trescothick (57) pulled a short delivery outside off from Khan to Bangar, at backward square leg. India finally had something to cheer about in the morning session as England went into lunch at 113 for 1, with Vaughan batting on 42 and Mark Butcher on two.
Post Lunch session:
England scored 201 runs in the two sessions and Michael Vaughan was around to help accumulate every one of them. The Yorkshireman was on his way to his third Test century of the series and fourth this summer, batting on a sublime 92.
The Indian bowlers struggled against a clinical English batting assault as the hosts went into tea at 201 for 1, having scored 88 runs in the afternoon session.
Fifteen minutes into the session and Michael Vaughan, in the midst of a surreal summer, had scored yet another half-century, cutting Agarkar for a four.
Boundaries gushed in for England as the Indian bowlers tried to hold their nerve against the batting assault. One baffling aspect of Ganguly’s captaincy has been his reluctance to bowl the spinners together. Of the 26 overs that Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble bowled, only four of them were bowled in tandem.
The calling and running between the wickets though was surprisingly inept for the England pair. Vaughan survived a close run-out chance after being sent back by a motionless Butcher. Driving the ball straight to Ganguly at mid-off, he set off for the run and just managed to make his crease as Ratra clipped the bails. An hour later, the Yorkshireman was struggling again when he got caught in a mix-up with Butcher only for Sehwag to miss the stumps.
The only other chance for India came when Bangar found Vaughan's edge fall short of Laxman at second slip.
But Vaughan's batting was an exhibition of classic cricketing shots, be it the cuts or the drives. You name it, he played it, taking the game away from the Indians with the brisk scoring pace; abetted by Butcher, who was satisfied to graft his runs and knock the ball around for singles.
The pair reached their 100-run partnership off 211 deliveries as India realised that the big problem for them was going to be the sheer pace of run-making by the hosts; giving themselves more time to bowl the Indians out.
England crossed the 200-run mark at the stroke of tea with Vaughan on the verge of his fourth century of the summer.
Zaheer, who was spoken to by the umpire in the morning session for running on the wicket, was the best bowler on display along with Bangar. Agarkar was his enigmatic self, giving away 52 runs in his ten overs. The spinners got appreciable turn from the wicket but failed to penetrate through the English bats. 88 runs were scored in the 29 overs bowled in the session, as England seemed set for a huge first innings total.
Post Tea session
A fumble at mid-off by Kumble gave Vaughan his third century of the series. He has now scored 500-plus runs in the four Tests so far, taking his series average to a Bradmanesque 100.
The 254-minute century, an amalgamation of character and concentration, came off 195 balls, with 13 boundaries. Errors in line and length were severely dealt with, as were some good length deliveries, as Vaughan grew in confidence and stature.
His mantra is simple: “Batting is batting, it is best kept uncomplicated." Words of a man with 500-plus runs in the series at a staggering strike rate of 65 runs per hundred balls faced.
Having dug deep for 130 balls, Butcher sauntered through for a single to reach his half-century. Butcher played a rather uncharacteristic innings, charging at the spinners and kicking at deliveries scratching around at the crease. He was dismissed by Harbhajan while shaping up to play the sweep. He missed the ball, which ricocheted off the pads onto the back of the bat and lobbed over the keeper’s head to the waiting hands of Dravid at first slip.
The dismissal of Butcher for 54 ended the 174-run partnership for the second wicket. The pair batted for 50 overs and with the huge amount of boundaries pushed the Indians on the back-foot, with England's score reading 272 for 2.
Nasser Hussain promoted John Crawley ahead of him in the innings.
Vaughan reached his 150, off 230 deliveries, with a delicate cut off Harbhajan for his 21st boundary. His knock was a study, with 37 singles and 159 dot balls, and yet maintaining a strike rate of 69. He was particularly severe on Anil Kumble, hitting him against the turn to the mid-wicket fence seven times.
After more than 60 overs were bowled, Ganguly bowled the spinners in tandem but the move was a tad late as the batsmen had the measure of the pitch and were playing comfortably.
There was complete chaos in the Indian team as Ganguly made 13 bowling changes in the final session without much success. Tendulkar was given a single over which cost three runs and then taken out of the attack. Ganguly, in fact, was guilty of under-bowling himself.
India took the new ball with the English score at 305 for 2, but Zaheer and Agarkar wasted it, straying in their line and length. Agarkar was sent packing to the fence with disdain by Vaughan as he raced towards his maiden double century in Test cricket, having missed it by three runs in the second Test at Nottingham.
Vaughan notched up a breezy 50-run partnership with Crawley as England ended a productive day on 336 for 2.
Kumble bowled too fast and flat while Harbhajan, despite appreciable turn from the pitch, failed to get quick wickets for his side.
India need to bowl the Englishmen out in the first session of the second day to keep any hope of winning the Test alive. And even though it might sound highly unlikely, let’s not forget the victory at Chennai against the Australians after Matthew Hayden scored a huge double century against India in the first innings. India went on to win the Test and the series after faring badly on the first day.
Snapshots
The perfect field for Harbhajan
