Nagpur: Kevin Pietersen led the way for England, playing an anchor’s innings on a flat and dry wicket as the visitors were 199/5 in 97 overs at the close of the first day’s play in the fourth and final Test match against India at the VCA Stadium here yesterday.
At stumps, Matt Prior and debutant Joe Root were batting on 34 and 31, respectively, on a very slow day where England scored runs at a rate of 2.05 runs per over on a turning pitch.
Earlier, disaster struck England, who elected to bat, as pacer Ishant Sharma clicked for India in the morning session clinching both the openers.
Playing in his fourth Test, Nick Compton (3) poked a good length ball by Sharma that rose and the delivery went to wicketkeeper and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had to stoop low to take the catch on the second ball of the fifth over, giving the hosts their first success of the day.
In-form batsman and England skipper Alastair Cook (1) was rather unlucky to get out leg before wicket. On a delivery, angling away from the off-stump, the ball struck Cook’s pads to which Indians appealed and the finger was raised by Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharamsena.
Replays, however, showed that the ball was hitting him outside the line of the stumps.
From 16/2, Jonathan Trott (44) and Pietersen (73) struck a 86-run partnership to take England out from a spot of bother. Trott and Pietersen hit seven and 10 boundaries, respectively, in their innings before the former was bowled by another debutant Ravindra Jadeja in the 50th over.
Ian Bell (1) also fell soon after as he was lured into a drive by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and was caught at short cover by Virat Kohli. Pietersen was the last wicket of the day after which Root and Prior held the innings together for the next 30 overs and scored another 60 runs.
Meanwhile, Stuart Broad, England’s Twenty20 captain, yesterday was been ruled out of the upcoming two-match T20 series against India with a bruised left heel.
Eoin Morgan will captain the side in Broad’s absence. Broad will return home immediately to begin a period of rest and rehabilitation, the team management said here.
James Harris, who is currently in Pune with the England Performance Programme, will replace Broad in the squad. The 22-year-old is uncapped at international level. Steven Finn will also return to the UK after a strained disc in his lower back ruled him out of the final Test in Nagpur.
Finn is expected to be available for the ODI series against India beginning in January. England will play two Twenty20s in Pune (December 20) and Mumbai (December 22). iIANS
