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News Letter
Wed Jul 31 2002
Issue No: 86

England huff and puff their way to a win

England ended up winning, but the way they huffed and puffed would have been enough to blow down even the third little pig's house. Only four wickets stood between them and victory on the fifth day, but VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar provided stubborn resistance in the morning. Runs flowed freely, and 126 had been added for the seventh wicket when Laxman sliced a drive straight to point. Agarkar marched on, with Ashish Nehra providing him staunch support for the final wicket. The fast-bowler even hooked a six off Andrew Flintoff, but the highlight of the day for India was undoubtedly Agarkar's maiden Test century. India were finally bowled out for 397, but not before Agarkar's effort had demonstrated that the pitch held no demons. Indian fans may now bemoan the fact that Laxman had not stayed just a wee while longer, bringing up visions of an improbable win. England now lead the series by a Test, and India will have to bounce back fast.

Ganguly: A lot of cricket left in this series

England captain Nasser Hussain praised his team for bowling India out twice to defeat the visitors by 170 runs in the first Test at Lord's. "We had to work hard for five days to be honest - that Indian batting line-up is something special, and the wicket got flatter," Hussain said. "But I'm proud of my team - to bowl that side out twice is a great effort."

"People are coming in and doing well, and people are batting well - so it looks good. But there are some ominous signs for the rest of the summer with the way they (India) batted today."

"We've got things we have to improve on - but we're going pretty well at the moment. This Test was a real team effort. We rotated the bowlers and everyone got wickets and runs," said Hussain. "Everyone had to hold their hands up in the heat - and they did - although it got cooler when (Sachin) Tendulkar got out!"

Asked why he had decided not to enforce the follow-on, he said, "I discussed the declaration with Duncan (Fletcher). We decided that with heat and forecast to ask our team to bowl for three days continuous was a bit much - I think we got it just about right."

The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said, "We batted pretty well today, but England had better discipline in the first three days and deserved to win. We had our chances, but Nasser and his boys played well under pressure. All touring sides have problems with the first Test when they travel abroad but we can take positive things from this game. There's a lot of cricket left in this series."

Lord's for sale

Well, not exactly Lord's, but close to. In a bid to improve drainage facilities at the hallowed London ground, the authorities are replacing the clay beneath the turf with faster-draining sandy soil. In a smooth marketing move, the Marylebone Cricket Club hopes to finance the 1.25-million-pound project by selling chunks of Lord's turf for 10 pouds per square foot. The turf will be sold in a special box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticitiy. The MCC is taking heart from the fact that the sale of 30,000 chunks of turf from Wembley football stadium were enough to raise thousands of pounds for sporting clubs and charities. Cricket-lovers who have longed to step on the sacred turf of Lord's now have the option of doing that right in their living-rooms.

  • Erapalli Prasanna urges an immediate recall of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Click Here
  • Catch former English quick Angus Fraser unplugged in his exclusive interview to CricInfo. Click Here
  • You can't buy his batting, but you can buy his bat. Get Sachin Tendulkar's limited-edition MRF bat. Click Here

One of the first truly electric Indian fielders, Hemu Adhikari - the Colonel - was born on this day in 1919. Known as much for his elegance as for his courage, Adhikari was the fourth captain of India during the 1958-59 series against the West Indies. He responded typically, making 63 and 40, and picking up three wickets along the way as well.

One Test down, three to go. India could still - in theory - pull off a famous series win by taking even two of the remaining three matches. But is the Indian batting line-up much too brittle in Test matches? Or has Agarkar's century suddenly given it more depth? Catch all the action from the tour on CricInfo.

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Ajit Agarkar
Century in vain
© CricInfo

Which Indian batsman once hit six fours off a Bob Willis over, a Test record?

Previous Question

Who led England during India's victorious tour there in 1971?

Answer:Ray Illingworth



"I am feeling very worn down and burnt out by events off the field, which have become a major distraction for me and prevented me from fully focusing on my cricket." Graham Thorpe

"I think we all remember the dreadful incident involving Monica Seles when she was stabbed by some spectator." ECB chief executive Tim Lamb, on a spectator accosting Tendulkar at Lord's



"Even though India lost the first Test with its mighty batting, Ajit Agarkar did us proud with the bat by scoring a century. Congrats to him." Rodney Ferdis


India's 397 was the highest fourth-innings total by any team at Lord's, beating the West Indies' 344 for one in 1984.

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