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England captain Andrew Strauss scores 52 not out in the third test against India. |
England continued their near total domination of India this summer by taking command of the third test after another peerless bowling performance.
After winning the toss at a cloudy Edgbaston -- close to the scene of riots that have paralyzed parts of Birmingham over the past few days -- England elected to bowl, a move that paid immediate dividends.
Stuart Broad, man-of-the-match in the previous test following his hat trick heroics, removed Virender Shewag with his first ball.
Shewag had been brought into strengthen India following a spate of injuries and batting collapses that has seen the world's top ranked team fail to score more than 300 runs or face more than 100 overs so far this series.
Instead hope turned to despair as England's bowlers ripped through India's top order with Dravid, Gambhir and Tendulkar all gone before the interval; Dravid removed by Tim Bresnan with the final ball before lunch.
But India's failure with the bat was brought into sharp focus by England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook who scored 84 without loss at stumps.
"It was a very good day for us," bowler Tim Bresnan, who took four wickets for just 62 wickets, told Sky Sports.
"Hopefully we can get stuck in and build up a lead."
With India's first innings lead cut to 140, and with ten wickets in hand, England will be confident of a third victory in the four test series.
Not only will it secure England the test series, it will also propel the team to the top of cricket's international rankings replacing India as the best test side in the world.
