Sussex deny Indians opening win

The opening game of India’s tour of England came to a thrilling climax as Sussex held-out to draw with one wicket intact, after the tourists had looked on track for victory for much of the final session. Disappointed though the tourists will be not to start with a victory, there will be some satisfaction with the bowling performance, which followed-up a decidedly unconvincing second-innings of their own which at one point had them in danger of sliding to defeat.

The Indians had started the final day on 21 for 2, a lead of 109, with Wasim Jaffer and Mahendra Dhoni having failed for the second time in the game the previous evening. Yuvraj Singh, who had scraped together 31 in the first-innings, did not last long, falling in the 10th over of the day when he attempted to glance James Kirtley but failed to get more than a thin nick. Wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd took a sharp catch, and Kirtley finally had his first wicket of the match. His 19 failed to enhance his claims to push ahead of Dhoni for the final Test berth. Dinesh Karthik, who had again looked solid in his 33, was trapped lbw 5 overs later by a lovely delivery from Robin Martin-Jenkins which pitched on middle-and-leg, moved back to the off, and beat the batsman’s attempted flick to leg to cannon into the front pad and earn a plumb lbw. Two overs later the bowler struck again, this time less due to his own brilliance than Gautam Gambhir’s impetuosity, as the batsman attempted a cut stroke from a ball that did not have sufficient width, and struck it straight to Carl Hopkinson at backward-point. At 81 for 5, just 169 ahead, the Indians would have begun to worry.

Captain Rahul Dravid strode to the middle with a runner, Karthik, due to the mild calf-strain picked-up on the opening day which had prevented him from fielding and thus forced his demotion in the order. Once again the onus was on him and VVS Laxman to perform a rescue-act, if not quite of the magnitude of their two famous stands against the Australians. They were looking good, however, finding the boundary several times in a few overs of Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and the part-time seam of Hopkinson, before Laxman fell victim to an extraordinary piece of misfortune when he firmly middled a short delivery from Saqlain, only to see the ball rebound from the leg of the debutant silly-point fieldsman Michael Thornley for Hodd to take a simple catch.

After a short battle between rival spinners Saqlain and Anil Kumble, with the German-born fingerspinner Oliver Rayner bowling at the other end, the players went to lunch. Immediately after, Michael Yardy took the ball, and immediately was gifted two wickets by terrible decisions, Kumble and S Sreesanth being given caught at short-leg by Thornley off arm and pad respectively without either delivery making contact with the bat. At 120 for 8, a lead of just 208, the Indians were in danger of leaving an eminently chaseable target.

Fortunately for them, however, stand-in captain Yardy chose not to go for the kill, continuing with himself and Rayner on a pitch which was taking increasing turn and on which Saqlain, 208 Test wickets to his name, might have been the more challenging option. Rutra Pratap Singh cashed-in on the Sussex skipper’s generosity, slamming a career-best 41* off 46 balls. Dravid, meanwhile, was not seriously inconvenienced by his injury and eased to 30*, the pair putting-on 64, the highest partnership of the innings, before the Indian captain declared at 184, setting the hosts a target of 273, not realistically attainable in the 55 overs remaining.

Once again Dravid did not take the field, leaving Laxman in charge of the defence. Dhoni, too, was missing with a finger injury, meaning Karthik took the gloves. Sreesanth, given first over this time, started well and in his 2nd over had Chris Nash caught at mid-on by one of the substitute fielders after hurrying him on an attempted pull-stroke. Shortly after, Yardy fell to an excellent delivery from Rutra Pratap which pitched right in the corridor, moved away and drew the edge. Ranadeb Bose, on first change in the 11th over, started better than in the first-innings and in his 3rd over produced an away-swinger which drew Hopkinson into an uncontrolled drive. The ball flew to backward-point and found Gambhir leaping to take an excellent catch. At tea the Indians had 40 overs left to take 7 wickets.

Kumble and Bose opened after the interval, hitting good lines and keeping the batsmen quiet. However, when Bose strayed onto Richard Montgomerie’s leg-stump in the 19th over, the batsman appeared to take a shot in the arm. Having come through the new-ball, he had 30 off 58, but a flurry of boundaries earned him 29 off his next 25. Thornley, however, made 11 before falling to the sort of dismissal Kumble has induced all his career: a full ball that skidded on and deceived the batsman into playing back. Thornley missed it completely and the timber was disturbed. In his next over the bowler hoodwinked Montgomerie, too, in classic fashion, though in getting his pad in the way the batsman at least gave the Umpire a decision to make.

Hodd, whose first-innings century had held-up a similar Indian charge, fell victim this time to his own running. After flicking Kumble to leg for a comfortable two, he crazily attempted a third and was caught well short by a good throw from Rutra Pratap. Buoyed, after a poor comeback the over before, RP curved one back into Rayner off the first ball of his next and removed the off-stump. 23 overs remained, with just 3 wickets left.

Saqlain, however, has more than once demonstrated his stickability with the bat and kept Martin-Jenkins company for almost 10 overs, during which time the light worsened. Saqlain was unfortunate, too, to be given caught at slip off Sreesanth, having dropped his hands just sufficiently to avoid the ball making contact with the glove. The light worsened further, and Laxman immediately withdrew the bowler from the attack. Gambhir, who replaced Kumble, demonstrated the mercurial wristspin more familiar to audiences, somehow managing to add 3 no-balls to full-bungers and half-volleys. One of these no-balls, however, beat an ill-advised pull-stroke from Kirtley and disturbed the stumps, causing Karthik to scream in disappointment. The batsman, however, lasted just 2 further overs before falling, yet again, to a Kumble classic. Last man Jason Lewry had 8 overs to survive.

He did his job, if not convincingly, and Martin-Jenkins finished with a credible 45*. Nonetheless, he could easily have been given lbw in Kumble’s final over. It had not been a day of vintage Umpiring. If the Test series is as interesting as this game, however, a rare treat is in store.

India 388 for 7 declared

Match drawn