Tailenders Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami frustrated England bowlers for more than 30 overs as their last-wicket partnership took India to a healthy total of 433/9 at tea on the second day of the first Test at Trent Bridge here Thursday.
The visitors resumed at 342/5 post lunch, after a solid morning session but lost four wickets in a jiffy — Ravindra Jadeja (25), captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (82), Stuart Binny (1) and Ishant Sharma (1), all in a span of two runs. Suddenly from 342/5, the lower order collapsed and the scoreboard read 346/9.
At this point, the English bowlers looked confident of wrapping up the Indian innings soon.
But No.10 Bhuvneshwar (46 not out) and No.11 Shami (39 not out) played a gutsy – and for England irritating – 10th-wicket 89-run partnership to take the visitors well past the 400-run-mark.
Their partnership, the second biggest of the innings, lasted more than two hours and 30 overs and helped India score 91 runs in the second session in 35 overs.
Earlier, India added 83 runs in the morning session. Opener Murali Vijay, who scored his fourth Test century Wednesday, added another 24 runs to his tally before departing for a deserving 146.
Resuming the day at 259/4, Vijay and Dhoni saw off the first few nervy overs and added another 45 runs in the first hour to their 126-run fifth-wicket partnership, seeing the visitors cross the 300-run mark.
However, soon the centurion was trapped leg before wicket by pacer James Anderson, who picked up his third wicket of the innings (3/95).
The skipper, however, was joined by Jadeja, who came out in a mood to score quick runs. The left-handed batsman scored 24 runs from 18 deliveries which included two huge sixes off spinner Moeen Ali in the same over to add to two fours he hit earlier.
The duo stuck it out in the middle to make sure India lost only one wicket in 28 overs and scored 83 runs at a run rate of 2.96 in the first session.
(IANS)