3rd Test: India v England at Bangalore, 19-23 Dec 2001 CricInfo Live Report

3rd Test: India v England at Bangalore, 19-23 Dec 2001
Ralph Dellor

India 1st innings: Rain holds the key, Rain relents, England lead by 98,
England 2nd innings: Rain ends fourth day,
Live Reports from previous days

RAIN RETURNS TO END FOURTH DAY IN BANGALORE WITH ENGLAND IN FULL FLOW

A thoroughly frustrating day came to an abrupt end when the rain returned to wipe out any possibility of further play when England had extended their first innings lead of 98 by 33 runs in the seven overs and one ball that were available in their second innings.

Mark Butcher and Marcus Trescothick had set off in one-day mode and, despite the extension of the fifth day to 115 overs, there appears little prospect of the match ending in anything else but a draw.

ENGLAND FINISH OFF INDIAN TAIL FOR LEAD OF 98

Because of the persistent rain, England were forced to wait in the pavilion for something like five hours before they could resume their efforts to dispose of the Indian tail. They did not waste too much time once they did get out there, taking just eight and half overs to bowl India out for 238 – a lead of 98.

There were chances to wrap it up even quicker than they did. In the first over of the session, Matthew Hoggard found the outside edge of Anil Kumble's bat, only to see substitute fielder Martyn Ball, on for Mark Butcher, fail to grasp a low chance at slip.

Hoggard himself was guilty of spurning another chance, this time off Andrew Flintoff. An involuntary top edge by Harbhajan Singh flew to long leg where Hoggard appeared to have got it, but let the ball slip from his grasp.

It was Flintoff who claimed Kumble's wicket. Another outside edge, but this time Marcus Trescothick made no mistake at second slip. Flintoff could have picked up another wicket when Sarandeep Singh was struck on the pad right in front. The bowler, however, had overstepped and the umpire was quite right to call the no ball.

Harbhajan was ninth out, sending a leading edge from Hoggard into the covers where Nasser Hussain dived forward to get both hands to a good catch. The end was not long in coming. Sarandeep pushed the ball into the covers, went for a single, but Michael Vaughan swooped, picked up and threw down the wicket at the bowler's end in one flowing movement.

Providing the light holds, England then had 34 overs to extend their lead of 98 to a level to cause India problems on the last day.

RAIN RELENTS TO OFFER THE PROSPECT OF PLAY IN BANGALORE

There seemed to be little prospect of play in Bangalore as the morning rain continued and the umpires made a number of inspections. However, the rain then stopped, the skies cleared and the officials decided that play would be able to start at 1415 hours, local time (0845 hours GMT).

Tea will be taken after an hour, and then it is a question of how many overs are possible before the light intervenes. On previous days, despite the use of floodlights, the umpires have offered the light to the batsmen before the scheduled close of play.

RAIN DAMPENS PROSPECTS OF A POSITIVE RESULT

What could have been a fascinating final two days of this series could well have been ruined by the weather. With India still 118 runs behind the England first inning total and with only three wickets in hand, everything was set for an intriguing contest. However, with the prospects of any play before lunch at the earliest appearing bleak, time to achieve a positive result is running out.

The rain, and a forecast of more rain, was exactly what the England team did not want. The bad weather that has dogged the match so far had already made a significant reduction in the time available. Now, by losing more sessions to the elements, it will be the Indian players who will be considering that their task in securing the series, thanks to the comprehensive victory at Mohali in the first Test, has been made so much easier.

Having said that, India were by no means out of this match. It is possible to imagine the lead being reduced to something in the region of 80, England would go for quick runs and get bowled out for, say 170, and India reaching the target on the last day.

That was not the most likely scenario. Going into the last two days, the draw would have been favourite with an England win not far behind as an outcome. Now, with rain falling steadily on an already sodden outfield and the forecast for more rain, the draw appears to be almost the only result possible.