Over-by-over updates from the Kia OvalEmail vithushan.ehantharajah.casual@theguardian.comAnd tweet @Vitu_E here if you like 1.50pm BST A bit of an update - theres a clean up at The Oval, with all the soppers you can think of. There are blue skies above the OCS stand and some of the covers have been removed. Its a delayed start, in which time we can offer our help to Doug Green. So I persuaded my girlfriend to come to the cricket. It was never going to be an easy sell - shes Greek and hates sport - but my talk of sitting together in the sun and drinking all day to a nail-biter match won her over. 12.51pm BST Amazing - just as the rains start to hit, Gambhir goes for a run to midwicket but is sent back. Woakes picks up cleanly and throws down the stumps. Great work but shoddy, shoddy stuff.And thats lunch! 12.49pm BST 6th over: India 9-1(Pujara 0, Gambhir 3)Gambhir gloves one down the leg side but it just lands short of Buttler. Might be worth taking a man from the off side field and chucking him in at leg slip/gully, with Gambhir hopping across his stumps. Another LBW shout but, again, it pitches well outside leg stump. Rain approaching The Oval - should hit in the next 10 minutes (hopefully during lunch). 12.45pm BST 5th over: India 6-1 (Gambhir 0, Pujara 0)Vijay stepping across and forward to counter Andersons swing as he plays the first ball towards the mid on in defence. But after being dragged across with outswingers, Anderson gives him the one that goes in, hitting Vijay in front of middle and hitting leg. Superb piece of bowling. 12.42pm BST Cracking delivery, sensational set up - a few outswingers have Vijay stepping across his stumps. Anderson then throws in the inswinger and Vijay is trapped in front like a kipper. Its been coming... 12.39pm BST 4th over: India 6-0 (Vijay 2, Gambhir 0)Broad goes up for an LBW shout against Gambhir but the ball clearly pitched outside leg stump, and might have been too high. Another nick dies on Ballance and stings his fingers, which Broad and Root find amusing. Gambhir then defends one into his groin and keels over. The next has him hopping back in defence to a ball he should have gone forward to. Stuck on the crease, hes done by a jaffa that leaves him. Then he has a flirt at a shorter one pushed across him. 12.34pm BST 3rd over: India 6-0 (Vijay 2, Gambhir 0)Cracking inswinger to Vijay has the Indian batsman flinching as it nearly chops him in half (not literally, of course). He gets right behind the next ball and fends solidly into the offside. 12.30pm BST 2nd over: India 6-0 (Vijay 2, Gambhir 0)Broad on the money straight away - full and swinging, and Vijay plays it into the leg side with the inside half of his bat for a single. Still good carry from this pitch with the new ball, as Buttler takes a delivery down leg right up at his head. An outside edge from Gambhir falls short of third slip. Leg byes for four but a sharp nut, seaming away and missing Gambhirs edge, is a nice finish to the over from Broad. 12.25pm BST 1st over: India 1-0 (Vijay 1, Gambhir 0)Anderson opening up - great shape, as per usual. Gambhir defends his first ball with not great conviction, but he keeps it out and leaves the last. Broad, of course, from the other end. 12.20pm BST England huddling as Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir make their way to the middle. In other news, Rootehs summer stats are mighty impressive..And so Joe Root's summer will read thus: 11 Innings - 774 Runs - 3 hundreds - 3 Fifties - Average 96.75 #Stayat5Joe 12.12pm BST 117th over: England 486 all out (Root 148) - lead of 338Smart running gets two from the first ball of Ashwins over, taking Root to 148. A one of the next ball has Anderson on strike - will we see the reverse sweep? No - hes out. 12.10pm BST Anderson plonks his front foot in the line of the ball and hes adjudged LBW. Looked like it might have been sliding down but, ah well... 12.06pm BST Abject, abject morning for the InjunsIndia bowled 11 overs in the first hour and conceded 98... 12.05pm BST 116th over: England 483-9 (Root 146, Anderson 1)Michael Holding is at a loss to explain why Anderson is batting considering Indias only tactic will be to damage him. The lead is hefty and only injury can beset Jimmy at this juncture. Root then takes the strike and nicks through the vacant third slip for four. A couple of easy leaves for Jimmy sees the first hour done and dusted. 11.58am BST 115th over: England 477-9 (Root 141, Anderson 0)Root starts with a delicate late cut for two, as Ashwin replaces Aaron. Then he brings out the reverse sweep for four - Seeing it like a football, says Bumble. The fields up, Aswhin is around the wicket and Root helps it around the corner for four. A long hop is then carted for yet another four. 11.55am BST 114th over: England 463-9 (Root 127, Anderson 0)Broad has a couple of swipes, the second of which has him backing away to the leg side and trying to ramp over Dhoni as Sharma follows him. Cracking bumper has Broads throwing his hands up in defence. Finally, to the fifth ball of the over, Broad gets it up and over Dhoni but its cut off by the man running around from fine leg. 11.54am BST Poor decision from Dharmasena, as Broad gets his left glove to a ball that is caught by Kohli, but his hand was off the bat at the time. Ah well, England well in front as it is... 11.48am BST 113th over: England 461-18 (Root 127, Broad 35)A lavish back cut for four from Root brings up the fifty partnership from just 31 balls. The lead is past 300 and Root unfurls another - poor bowling from Aaron. Root then throws culture out the window, clearing his front leg and Babe Ruths, centre field, for four. The last 20 overs have seen 152 runs! 11.42am BST 112th over: England 449-8 (Root 115, Broad 35)Broad flat-slaps Sharma for six - ridonkulous shot through deep square leg. He goes again, almost forehand smashing it into the ground for a single. Great fun if youre an England fan. Root drops one down at his toes and Broads diving to make his ground for yet another single, as the run rate moves to four an over. 11.37am BST 111th over: England 440-8 (Root 113, Broad 28)First good bit of work in the field from India as Root times one into midwicket, which is brilliantly stopped by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, diving to his right. Broad back on strike and he clouts Aaron through mid-wicket. Much better bouncer two balls later has Broad hopping and offering the shoulder of his bat. It squirts into the off side and he scampers to the safety of the nonstrikers end. Another sharp single ends the over.Broad going for fastest Test 50 ? Kallis SA v Zimbabwe Capetown 2004-05, 24 balls. England fastest, Botham, 28 Eng v India, Delhi 81-82. 11.32am BST 110th over: England 433-8 (Root 111, Broad 23)Grim, grim cricket for India as they concede overthrows off the first ball. The second is again racing to third man for four. Sharma then thinks he has Root but replays show his foot over the line. Broad scampers two off the last ball with a ducking hook and India are all over the place. 11.29am BST Root tries to run the ball to third man but plays the ball onto his stumps. But the umpires check the no ball and Sharmas foot is over the line! Pathetic cricket, really, though feel for Sharma - am sure hes overstepped a couple of times but the umpires dont bother checking unless theres a wicket. 11.25am BST 109th over: England 432-8 (Root 104, Broad 21)Aaron, the man partly responsible for Broads dented beak, bowls full first up and Broad squirts another boundary through gully. Perhaps he feels a bit guilty? Shouldnt do - get it up him, lad. Tries a short one to Root, but it doesnt get up too high and Root times nicely to the leg side sweeper. Aarons full again and Broad carts him through cover for another boundary. More runs as Broad punches into the off side for two. The over finishes with a lofted slap over cover point. Thats 16 runs from the over... 11.19am BST 108th over: England 407-8 (Root 103, Broad 6)India on the single to Root, but the little scamp finds the gap between midwicket and mid on for three runs to take him to his 5th Test hundred, and third of the summer. It came off 135 balls, with his second fifty coming off just 42 deliveries. The blemish is that Jordans out the very next ball and Broad comes out to bat. Short stuff? Of course, but its not directed too well and the Panda-eyed one can tuck one around the corner to get off strike. Back on strike, he swings hard at a wide ball and gets it through gully for four. Most Test 100s for England before age of 24: 7 A Cook, 5 L Hutton & J Root, 4 I Botham. 11.13am BST Good ball from Sharma holds its line and takes the edge of CJs bat, who was expecting a bit more movement into him. 11.10am BST 107th over: England 397-7 (Root 99, Jordan 20)A very easy four for Root, as Aaron shapes one away and Root follows it to thick edge it through third man for four. A tuck off his hip moves him to 98. Jordan does the same and tries to scamper two but is sent back by Root. Another into the leg side takes Root to 99... 11.06am BST 106th over: England 390-7 (Root 83, Jordan 19)The first ball of the day decks in off the seam and is squirted behind square of the leg side for a single. The second is a short ball that doesnt get too high up ad swings outrageously past the Jordan for four byes. Another short ball is followed by a full one that Jordan bunts back down the ground for no run. More bat and ball but thats all from the first over of the day. 11.01am BST Ishant Sharma to start things off with the ball today from the Pavilion End. Joe Root facing up... 10.54am BST And here I am.Overcast at The Oval - so Ive heard - but the sun shines bright on England, who start the day 237 ahead. It could all be over today for our second consecutive three-day Test, unless India can show some fight. Yeah... 10.40am BST Vithushan will be here shortly. Continue reading...
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