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ENG win 3 - 0 ENG gains 19 points; IND loses 19 points
Draw 1.5 - 1.5 IND gains 3 points; ENG loses 3 points
IND win 3 - 0 IND gains 26 points; ENG loses 26 points
Ahmedabad
01 - 05 March 2006
England won the toss and elected to bat first.� England made a solid start, taking the score to 56 before Strauss (28) was caught at second slip.� In the third over before lunch, India caught Bell (9) in the slips and at lunch, England the match was fairly balanced with the score 2 for 89.� India had the better of the afternoon session after Pietersen (15) played on and Cook (60) was clean bowled while England added only 68 runs to be 4 for 157 at tea.� England settled after tea and took the total to 203 before Flintoff (43) and Geraint Jones (14) were trapped in front, and Blackwell (4) was bowled in the space of 41 runs.� By stumps, India held the advantage with England 7 for 246.
India had an opportunity to cement their advantage by finishing off the English innings quickly on the second morning.� However, Collingwood managed to help the tail to wag through the morning session.� Despite losing Hoggard (11) and Harmison (39), England added 114 runs in the session to go to lunch in a far better position than they might have hoped at 9 for 360.� England continued to frustrate India for almost an hour into the afternoon session before Panesar (9) was trapped in front for England to be all out for 393 runs with Collingwood the not out batsman on 134 runs, his maiden Test century. Sreesanth was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 95 off 28.5 overs. India began their reply and lost Sehwag (2) in the third over at 1 for 11. By tea, India had taken the score to 1 for 41. During the evening session, England discovered the frustration India had faced earlier in the day and was unable to take any wickets. At stumps, India was 1 for 136, only 58 runs short of the follow on target.
England claimed a definitive advantage during the third morning after trapping Dravid (40) in front in the third over at 2 for 140 and then Jaffer (81) and Laxman (0) were out in consecutive balls two overs later for India to be suddenly struggling at 4 for 149. England went on to trap Tendulkar (16) in front and Dhoni (5) was caught behind before India staggered to lunch at 6 for 190, still four runs short of the follow on target. England struck quickly after lunch, catching Pathan (2) before India had added a run. However, India consolidated and fought back. Despite only adding 62 runs in the session, India batted until tea without further loss of wickets to be 7 for 252 at the break. England again struggled to take wickets during the evening session as India continued to slowly reduce the first innings lead. However, late in the session, England dismissed Kumble (58) and Kaif (91) before India finished the day at 9 for 322, still 71 runs in arrears.
England trapped Sreesanth (1) in front in the first over on day four to have India all out for 323 runs. Hoggard was the best of the bowlers with 6 for 57 off 30.5 overs, his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests. England then began their second innings and added another 77 runs without loss to their 70 runs first innings lead by lunch. India had early success after lunch, catching both Strauss (46) and Bell (1) behind in consecutive Pathan overs to have England 2 for 97. However, that was India's only wicket during the session and by tea, England was very well placed at 2 for 155, with an overall lead of 225 runs. India continued to struggle during the evening session and only managed to catch Pietersen (87) in the first hour. By stumps, England was 3 for 297 with a lead of 367 runs.
England declared on their overnight score and India began the final morning needing an unlikely 368 runs for victory or a day of batting to salvage a draw. India made their intentions known early by batting sedately after Sehwag (0) was out in the fifth over. By lunch, India was 1 for 63. England needed many wickets during the afternoon session to have any chance of victory. India merely continued sedately, taking the total to 1 for 131 at tea. India then surprised England by upping the run rate substantially after tea. Despite losing Dravid (71), Jaffer (100) after posting his first Test century, Pathan (35), Dhoni (16) and Harbhajan Singh (7), India managed to double their score in only 30 overs. When the draw was declared, India was 6 for 230 with Tendulkar (28*) and Laxman (0*) the not out batsmen while Harmison and Flintoff took two wickets.
Second Test
Nagpur
09 - 13 March 2006
England won the toss and elected to bat first.�� England made a competent start, but after taking to total to 25 runs, openers Strauss (18) and Cook (17) fell in consecutive Pathan overs and England was suddenly 2 for 36.� By lunch, England had recovered slightly to be 2 for 54.� England continued to consolidate after lunch and took the total to 117 runs before Bell (38) was bowled.� Soon afterwards players left the field due to bad light.� Play again got underway later in the afternoon and England lost Pietersen (64) and Collingwood (25) in the hour of play available before bad light ended the day with India holding a slight advantage and the score 5 for 200.
A combination of overnight rain, bad light, drizzle and poor weather conditions prevented any play on day two of the Test.
Play started on time on the third day and India struggled until just before lunch when Patel caught and bowled Flintoff (70) at 6 for 283.� By lunch, England was 6 for 288. India took eight overs and ten runs after lunch to dismiss Plunkett (0), Jones (52), Harmison (0) and Panesar (0). England was all out for 300 runs, while Kumble was the best of the bowlers with 5 for 76 off 29.4 overs and in doing so, took his 500th Test wicket. India began their reply by losing Sehwag (11) at 1 for 18 before consolidating and going to tea at 1 for 52. India continued to build their innings after tea until, having amassed 96 runs, Jaffer (31), Tendulkar (4) and Yuvraj Singh (15) were all dismissed in the space of 38 runs for India to be 4 for 134. When stumps were drawn soon afterwards, India finished the day at 4 for 149, still 151 runs in arrears.
England had the better start to the fourth morning, with Dhoni (16) out at 5 for 153. However, India then settled and took the total past 200 before Dravid (95) was bowled at 6 for 229. Late in the session, England caught Pathan (52) and at lunch, India was 7 for 269, only 31 runs in arrears. England failed to quickly finish off the Indian tail enders and they added 44 more runs before Harbhajan Singh (36) was caught at 8 for 313. England then managed to catch Piyush Chawla (1) at 9 for 321 and then bowled Kumble (32) to finally have India all out for 338 runs at tea. Flintoff was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 96 off 22 overs while England conceded a first innings lead of 38 runs. England then began their second innings by losing Cook (2) at 1 for 7. England then consolidated for a period and retook the lead before Strauss (13) and Pietersen (4) were caught in the space of five runs to be 3 for 55. India began to get some momentum and later caught Collingwood (14) and Bell (57) to have England in real trouble at 5 for 112 at stumps, with a lead of only 74 runs.
India took their opportunity on the final morning to seize a definitive advantage by dismissing Jones (5), Plunkett (1), Hoggard (4), Harmison (13) and Flintoff (51) in the space of only 65 runs. England was all out for 181 runs while Patel (4 for 25 off 13 overs) and Kumble (4 for 70 off 29 overs) shared the bowling honours. India began their second innings with a victory target of only 144 runs and batted through to lunch without loss to be no wicket for 28 at the break. England had a brief glimmer of hope after the break when Jaffer (17) was trapped in front. However, India then batted for just under two hours to amass the required 144 runs without further loss, with Sehwag (76*) and Dravid (42*) the not out batsmen in a nine wicket victory.
Third Test
Mumbai
18 - 22 March 2006
India won the toss and surprisingly elected to field first. England made a good start, but lost Bell (18) at 1 for 52, shortly before going to lunch at 1 for 63. England began to take the ascendancy during the afternoon session, adding 106 runs without loss to go to tea at 1 for 158. Shah (50*) retired hurt with hand craps during the afternoon session before Strauss posted his eighth Test century. India eventually had Strauss (128) and Pietersen (39) caught behind in the space of 12 runs to have England 3 for 242. However, by stumps, England held a substantial advantage with the score 3 for 272.
England continued to pile on the runs on the second morning and took the total to 326 runs before Collingwood (31), Flintoff (50) and Jones (1) all fell in the space of four overs and seven runs for England to be 6 for 333. By lunch, England was still well placed with the score 6 for 345. After lunch, India dismissed Udal (9) and Hoggard (0) in successive deliveries to have England 8 for 356. India then caught Shah (88) on debut and Anderson (15) to have England all out for a more than useful 400 runs. Sreesanth was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 70 off 22 overs. India then began their reply and at tea was no wicket for 8. Shortly after tea, Sehwag (6) was caught at 1 for 9 and then Jaffer (11) and Tendulkar (1) fell in the space of four runs for India to be in some trouble at 3 for 28. By stumps, India was 3 for 89, still 112 runs short of the follow on target.
India began the third morning badly, losing Yuvraj Singh (37) early on. India then staged a minor recovery before Dravid (52) was caught behind at 5 for 142 just before India went to lunch at 5 for 153, but within sight of the follow on target. England caught Pathan (26) before India reached the relative safety of the follow on target. However, Dhoni (64) and Harbhajan Singh (2) were then caught in the space of five runs during the ten minutes before tea, when the score was 8 for 217. India then benefited from a 55 run partnership after tea before Kumble (30) was trapped in front at 9 for 372. Patel (7) soon followed and India was all out for 279 runs, conceding a first innings lead of 121 runs. Anderson was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 40 off 19.1 overs. England then began their second innings and promptly saw Strauss (4) and Bell (8) caught to be 2 for 21. However, England then managed to reach stumps without further mishap to be 2 for 31, with an overall lead of 152 runs.
India choked of the scoring opportunities on the fourth morning as the desperately tried to contain England's lead to a manageable final innings target. England managed to add only 55 runs in the session whilst losing Udal (14) and Pietersen (7) to be 4 for 86 at lunch, with an overall lead of 207 runs. India managed to continue to limit the run scoring after lunch, but was only able to run out Shah (38) while England took the score to 5 for 138 at tea, with an overall lead of 259 runs. During the evening session, England passed 150 before moving into slog mode. While losing Collingwood (32), Jones (3), Hoggard (6), Flintoff (50) and Anderson (6), England took their total to 9 for 191 before being all out with an overall lead of 310 runs. Kumble was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 49 off 30.4 overs. India then began their chase for an unlikely 313 runs for victory, but lost Pathan (6) before ending the day at 1 for 18, still 295 runs from victory.
England dismissed nightwatchman Kumble (8) early on the final morning and then Jaffer (10) fell twelve runs later at 3 for 33 for India to be in trouble. However, India then batted through the remainder of the session before going to lunch at 3 for 75, still 238 runs from an increasingly improbably victory. All of the morning's perseverance came to nothing when play resumed as the wheels completely fell of the Indian innings after lunch. Dravid (9) was caught on the third ball after lunch and then Tendulkar (34), Sehwag (0), Dhoni (5), Harbhajan Singh (6), Yuvraj Singh (6) and Patel (1) were out in the space of 25 runs for India to be all out for 100. Udal was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 14 off 9.2 overs whilst England claimed victory by 212 runs to draw the series.
