First step to redemption, India go 1-0 up
In the ninth over of the fifth morning, Pragyan Ojha dropped it slightly short of good length, the ball stopped on Prior, and he spooned it back to Ojha.
India had waited more than 60 overs for that wicket; the next one came in less than four overs. Ojha got one to stay a little low and, Cook, who had batted calmly, authoritatively, for a magnificent 176, lost his stumps.
Of the three wickets that remained, Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan took one each, making the Indian seamers’ combined tally seven for the match, in 72.3 overs. England had chosen three seamers in their squad, trusting what was supposed to be their area of strength, but between them, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan bowled 72 overs and only took one wicket, that of tailender Zaheer. They failed to achieve the amount of reverse swing the Indians managed, and looked second best even on the speed gun.
Captain M S Dhoni highlighted the role of his fast men in India’s victory. “Zaheer Khan put in a lot of effort. We’ve seen Umesh improve, he’s bowling real quick,” he said. “The contribution of the fast bowlers was really important. They gave us the breakthrough when it was really needed.”
The performances of Ojha, Zaheer and Umesh made day five the highlight reel of India’s impressive bowling through the match. And in his unbeaten 51-ball 41 in the brief fourth-innings chase, Pujara provided another glimpse of the riches he can offer Indian cricket.
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