Ahmedabad : Alastair Cook and Matt Prior withstood India to carry England into a narrow lead on day four of the first Test on Sunday in Sardar Patel Stadium Ahmedabad, having followed on.
Cook batted through the day to finish on 168 not out, while Prior partnered him reaching 84 in an unbroken stand worth 141 runs. That took England to 340 for five at the close, 10 runs ahead of India with five second-innings wickets in hand.
Until Prior’s arrival to the middle, it looked as if the captain would run out of support for his brave knock, with wickets falling around him as England looked to avoid an innings defeat.
Opener Nick Compton fell early in the day, trapped lbw by Zaheer Khan for 37. Jonathan Trott fell for 17 after edging to MS Dhoni. Kevin Pietersen was dismissed in the morning session by Pragyan Ojha.
Ian Bell stayed with Cook until lunch, but perished by a reverse-swinging yorker from Umesh Yadav. Samit Patel followed the very next ball to a similar delivery for a golden duck.
At that point, an innings defeat before the end of the day looked a distinct possibility, but Cook was unbowed who top-scored in the first innings and combined with Prior to great effect.
Their partnership owed everything to discipline and patience. That steady approach wore down India who were visibly fatigued as the day progressed.
The captain became England’s highest run-scorer in Asia during the course of the day, and also posted the highest Test innings by an England Test skipper in India.
Most importantly for the tourists, though, it gives them a chance, albeit still a slim one, of coming away from Ahmedabad without being beaten. It will require better batting on day five, but it is remarkable that there is even a possibility.
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