The other opener Nick Knight also struggled to keep his wicket initially, but once the initial movement disappeared and the two pacemen began to tire, he began to assert himself. With a very convincing Ronnie Irani for company, Knight began to blossom, improvising against Anil Kumble in particular, as the duo mounted a recovery. The two men raised the England score to 80-2 before Irani (37) was adjudged lbw by umpire Bucknor. Knight, though, brushed aside the loss of his erstwhile partner and marched on to his 50 in the company of Owais Shah. But a poor shot against Yuvraj Singh saw him dismissed at that very score and plunged the English innings into fresh strife.