Ahmedabad Test, Day 4, Close
Friday, December 14, 2001

Nasser Hussain has done India a huge favour by batting on well into the last hour today. He was probably worried about the might of Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the Indian batsmen, but with England already one down in the series, Hussain should have given his bowlers more time to try and take ten wickets. If India survive the first session tomorrow without too many casualties, the match could degenerate into a dreary draw.

That would be a shame, for England have played superbly for four days, and deserved a shot at a win. After watching four days of good cricket, the crowd didn't seem too charged up about the last day's play. Things could have been different if Hussain had closed the innings an hour earlier, giving India about 105-110 overs to bat.

Anil Kumble was his usual hard-working self today, while Harbhajan Singh helped himself to a bagful of wickets, without bowling as well as he can. The ball didn't seem to be coming out of his hand quite right, and his inability to turn the offspinner is still a cause for concern. However, this five-for should do his confidence a lot of good for the third Test in Bangalore.

SS Das and Deep Dasgupta have the skills to see off the first hour tomorrow. England's bowling attack lacks the ammunition to run through the batting - apart from Ashley Giles, India should not be too worried about the others.

But stranger things have happened. The first hour is crucial, and if England manage a couple of early breakthroughs, they might yet cause panic among Indian ranks. However, the most likely scenario is India playing out the 90 overs tomorrow to achieve a draw – thanks to Hussain's defensive approach.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to S Rajesh.

More Sanjay Manjrekar
Day 4, Tea: Tough for Ganguly

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