da brwin： Dileep Premchandran comes up with the plays of the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test between England and India
da bet sport： Dileep Premachandran at Trent Bridge30-Jul-2007
RP Singh celebrates after dismissing Kevin Pietersen © Getty Images
Grievous Bodily Harm and the Latin way: Kevin Pietersen wasextremely fortunate to escape GBH when Sreesanth produced a wicked beamerthat swung like a curveball while flying past his helmet. His sway andfall though were straight out of Swan Lake, or perhaps he’s been watchingtoo much Latin football where players go to ground as though shot whentackled.You only live twice: Pietersen’s good fortune didn’t end there.RP Singh was more than halfway to the slip cordon in celebrationafter he induced the faintest of edges, but Pietersen stood his ground andSimon Taufel, whose poor match continued, was unmoved. Justice wouldn’t bedenied though, and the next ball thudded into Pietersen’s pads in front ofthe stumps after he shouldered arms to one that nipped back alarmingly.Touches of class: Michael Vaughan’s announced his arrival as aworld-class bat on India’s last tour here, when he made 615 runs withthree centuries. A beautifully timed push through the covers off AnilKumble took him to a 17th Test century, a tremendous achievementfor a man whose future in the game was considered bleak just a fewmonths ago.Knockout blow: RP Singh’s jubilant leap and punch in the air afterclaiming Pietersen’s wicket took him dangerously close to the batsman. Ina match that has seen plenty of needle, it was another potentialflashpoint, but Pietersen walked away without making an issue of it. Afterthe lip from the English fielders on Sunday, retribution of some kind wasexpected, and the tension spread to the stands as well with certain Indianappeals being booed and cries of “Get on with it”.Walking the talk: Zaheer Khan has been India’s strike bowler foryears, but had never lived up to the great expectations. In this series,he has finally bowled like the man all of India hoped he would be, with pace,control and energy. The early dismissal of Alastair Cook was crucial; aswas the double-blow that saw Vaughan and Ian Bell back in the pavilion inthe space of three balls.Circus act: Chris Tremlett’s loft to mid-on was as tame as tame canbe in a situation that called for obduracy, but RP Singh’s fumble andjuggle would have given the other fielders palpitations before the catchwas finally completed. All’s well that ends though.Short-leg perils: When India came out to bat, Wasim Jaffer flickeda delivery from Ryan Sidebottom off his hips. It’s usually the lot of ajunior player to stand at forward short leg, and Cook was the unlucky manas the ball thudded into the box before rolling off towards square leg.Some singles are more painful than others.
