Five Extraordinary Takes in One Day!

Want to know what makes great Test matches?

Five exceptional wickets when the match appears to be going the way of the team batting. That is exactly what happened as India cashed in on some resilient bowling to peg back the high flying England team after the openers got them off to a rollicking start.

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Alastair Cook: He showed a remarkable ability to complement the man who could not be stopped. He even produced what many consider the shot of the day, if not the match, when he played one straight drive off Zaheer Khan.

Yet the shot he got out to was far from extraordinary. A miscued shot off Harbhajan Singh that went sailing through the air and straight into the hands of Zaheer Khan. It curtailed an innings that was really beginning to take shape with a half century. More importantly it brought to an end an exceptional opening partnership, perhaps the one that would have had the most impact on the Indians.

Ian Bell: Well, little said the better, much like this innings unfortunately for England. Zaheer Khan was on fire in the post tea session. Waqar Younis-like near toe crushers was not off the menu. One incoming delivery served hot ensured Bell had only one way to go – back to the pavilion.

Kevin Pietersen: The captain said there would be no distractions. However, his own approach at the crease was distracted. Mahendra Singh Dhoni employed Yuvraj Singh and KP wanted nothing more than to get on top of him. Unfortunately his dancing down the pitch could have nearly cost him his wicket. But India did not have to wait too long. His pull out was a horrendous miss that he would not like to see too many times as Zaheer Khan picked up his second.

Paul Collingwood: The rounds of drinks this evening for Billy Bowden would be bought by Harbhajan Singh. Collingwood has not been in exceptional shape with the bat and when out of form, luck usually deserts as has been the case with Collingwood. Collingwood padded away Harbhajan Singh’s delivery only to be declared out, caught at short leg by Bowden. Replays showed his bat was nowhere close to the ball and hidden well behind his pad.

Andrew Strauss: This had to be the icing on the cake. India had come back into the match on the back of four wickets. But this would be the most prized one, simply based on the day’s performance. Strauss played straight to an Amit Mishra delivery. The bowler though dived without effort and took the catch clean to send England’s top run scorer, not to mention sole centurion, on the day back to the pavilion and England left ponderous at 229 for five.

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