The Lord’s Test, part of India’s 2011 tour of England, began today and was both historic and tough. India, the number one team at that time, led by MS Dhoni, faced Andrew Strauss’ strong England team at Lord’s in a match that mattered a lot.
This was not only the start of the Pataudi Trophy but also the 100th Test between these two big teams. It was the 200th Test in cricket history. The Lord’s crowd was huge and many more watched on TV and online. Everyone expected a close contest to start the summer series between India and England but the visitors were outplayed by a team well prepared for the series.
India was tired and had injuries from a quick turnaround after the IPL and missed their key opener Virender Sehwag for the first game. Without Sehwag, Dhoni, being cautious because of the green pitch, chose to bowl after winning the toss.
This was the start of the decline for the Indian team. Zaheer Khan, the leader of the bowling attack, suffered a hamstring injury in the second session. With Zaheer gone, India’s chances of taking 20 wickets decreased.
England scored 474/8 before declaring, thanks to Kevin Pietersen’s unbeaten double century (202). Praveen Kumar’s 5 for 106 was the only bright spot for India.
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While India’s bowling was always a weakness, their experienced batting lineup also failed. Rahul Dravid scored a hundred (103) at Lord’s, a feat he missed on his debut in 1996 but India was dismissed for 286. None of the other batsmen, not even Sachin Tendulkar (34), stayed with Dravid for long.
When India needed a comeback to save the match, they got some hope when Ishant Sharma took 4 for 59 in the third innings. But Matt Prior’s 103 not out ended any chance for Dhoni’s team.
England declared again at 269/6, setting India a target of 458. James Anderson, with Stuart Broad, caused problems for the Indian batting lineup.
Anderson took 5 for 65 and Broad 3 for 57 and India was dismissed for 261. VVS Laxman scored a fighting 56 and Suresh Raina played well for his 78.That was not enough. India lost by 196 and went on to lose at Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and The Oval, their worst series loss away.
