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London, July 21: India were looking up to
their bowlers to bail them out of trouble after a spineless
batting performance allowed England gain a sizeable lead in the
rain-hit first cricket Test at Lord's here today. Pace spearhead
Zaheer Khan struck two early blows to check England's progress
in the second innings but two rain stoppages, each lasting about
two hours, meant the Indians could not have a real crack at the
hosts. By close on the third day, England had nudged ahead to 77
for two, an overall lead of 174.
Skipper Michael Vaughan (16) and Kevin
Pietersen (15) were at the crease, and the two had already put
on 34 runs for the third wicket. Earlier, the Indian batsmen
failed to complement the bowlers' good work yesterday and were
bowled out for 201. Resuming at 145 for 4, the Indian innings
lasted just 20 overs into the morning session and ended 15
minutes before lunch, conceding England a lead of 97 runs.
James Anderson claimed 5-42, his third
five-wicket haul in Tests, while Ryan Sidebottom picked up 4-65.
Rains delayed resumption of play after lunch by an hour and 50
minutes before Zaheer dealt his twin blows. The left-arm seamer
picked up the wickets of openers Andrew Strauss (18) and
Alastair Cook (17) before the rains returned to force an early
tea break. Only eight overs could be possible after that during
when Vaughan and Pietersen negotiated the Indian seamers without
trouble. (Agencies))
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