Dhoni ‘cooked’ at stumps
View(s):England took four wickets in the last hour of the third day to fight back against India in the final Test as the hosts trailed by 33 runs behind the tourists at Nagpur on Saturday.
The tourists, who lead the series 2-1, had long been frustrated by Mahendra Dhoni and Virat Kohli, who shared a 198-run, 507-ball stand in Nagpur. However, Swann trapped Kohli lbw for 103 before Dhoni was run out on 99 by Alastair Cook in the penultimate over.
Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla were also dismissed as India closed the day 33 runs behind England on 297-8. It was a swift and dramatic turnaround in fortunes for England, who had been second best for most of the day as Dhoni and Kohli painstakingly batted India back into the match with their mammoth partnership.
Virat Kohli who made a resilient 103 cuts against England.
But Cook’s men were finally rewarded for their persistence. Once Kohli had fallen, the hosts – who were just beginning to think about overhauling England’s first innings total of 330 – were stalled by an all too familiar clatter of quick wickets.
Debutant Jadeja made only 12 before he was pinned in front by James Anderson, before Cook took advantage of Dhoni’s nervousness in the closing stages of a tough day.
The Indian captain, who compiled his longest Test innings in terms of balls faced, had been stuck in the nineties for more than 70 minutes when he attempted to reach his century by taking on a quick single.
But Cook, running in from mid-off, pounced and threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end to run out his opposite number by a matter of millimetres.Swann then got another one to turn and bowled Piyush Chawla with the first ball of the final over to leave England the happier side at the close.
That was harsh on Dhoni and Kohli, who finally lived up to their superstar billing for the first time in the series.
Both players curbed their usual attacking tendencies with gritty and determined innings which were short on style but stacked with substance. – BBC
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