Morgan leads recovery after Aamer makes inroads

Tea England 190 for 4 (Morgan 44*, Collingwood 27*) v Pakistan

Pakistan made significant inroads on the opening day of the first Test at Trent Bridge, but Eoin Morgan and Paul Collingwood led an England rally as they reached tea on 190 for 4. Mohammad Aamer continued the form that had caused Australia so many problems with three wickets while the other went to Mohammad Asif as the hosts stumbled either side of lunch. Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott fell in the space of four balls but the innings was put back on track as Morgan counter-attacked with a punchy display.

It was a typically mixed performance from Pakistan both with the ball and in the field. Kamran Akmal had a difficult time behind the stumps as he dropped a sitter off Andrew Strauss early in the first session and the support bowling for Aamer and Asif was distinctly lacking in quality.

There was also plenty of action for the UDRS as four reviews were called for in the first two sessions. Two of those were during Kevin Pietersen's painful 29-ball innings as Pakistan twice challenged not-out decisions. Asif was the bowler on both occasions, firstly with an lbw appeal which replays showed was only clipping the bails then when he thought Pietersen had edged to the wicketkeeper but the noise, expertly noticed by Asoka de Silva, had been bat clipping pad.

Pietersen, though, never settled and looked woefully short of form in his first innings for nearly a month and there was no doubt about his eventual dismissal when Asif nipped a ball back which took the inside edge into the stumps. It was another wonderful piece of bowling from an intelligent operator.

England's problems were compounded in the next over when Jonathan Trott, who had been reprieved by the UDRS when he had 13 after being given lbw to Danish Kaneria despite an inside edge, padded up to an inswinger from Aamer and this time Trott's request for a review couldn't save him.

At 118 for 4, Morgan was in the position to prove he could haul his team out of trouble in five-day as well as one-day cricket. He had an early alarm when he edged Aamer and Akmal - possibly out of sheer delight of thinking he'd caught one - claimed the dismissal but even with the naked eye it hadn't appeared to carry and replays confirmed the ball grazed the turf.

After that scare Morgan settled and battled hard to see off the main threat of the pace bowlers. His reward was to face two spinners, Kaneria and Shoaib Malik, who were used in tandem by Salman Butt as he rested his quicks towards the end of the session. He drove Malik powerfully through the covers and had the confidence to unfurl a reverse sweep off Kaneria whose lack of control was a problem for Butt.

Collingwood offered typically fighting support and broke the post-lunch shackles when he dispatched consecutive short balls from the struggling Umar Gul through the covers. By tea the fifth-wicket stand was worth 72 and it was Pakistan needing to regain control.

Strauss had looked in good form during the morning session although had huge stroke of luck when Akmal added another awful drop to a sizeable collection of keeping horrors. Akmal had been tidy during the recent series against Australia and there was a sense of disbelief that such an easy chance had gone down but he remains an unconvincing gloveman.

The mistake appeared to shake Pakistan who looked a little flat and when Aamer fired a ball so far down the leg side that it barely hit the cut strip heads threatened to drop. However, with the following ball Aamer hit the perfect line to Cook who was squared up on off stump and edged low to first slip. Trott then did well to keep out his first delivery as Aamer produced a well-directed yorker and England were relieved when his opening six-over spell came to end.

Strauss and Trott progressed comfortably as they added 51 for the second wicket but 10 minutes before the break Butt recalled Aamer for his second spell. With his fourth ball he found Strauss's top edge as the England captain's eyes lit up at a hint of width. It sent Pakistan into lunch in decent spirits and their mood improved further shortly after the resumption, but by tea momentum was beginning to shift again in what has already been a compelling contest.

India ahead as run-fest continues

India 669 for 9 (Tendulkar 203, Raina 120) lead Sri Lanka 642 for 4 dec by 27 runs

Normal service resumed on the fourth day with bat dominating ball on a placid pitch, after the Sri Lankan spinners had injected life into the Test on the third. India ensured a draw was inevitable, as they overhauled Sri Lanka's first-innings score, with Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina adding to an exhaustive list of milestones achieved in this game. Tendulkar eased to his fifth double-century while Raina became the first Indian batsman since Virender Sehwag in 2001 to score a Test century on debut.

As Tendulkar and Raina took India past the follow-on target, the proceedings evoked memories of the dull draws these two teams played out during the 1990s. With spread-out fields, a slow pitch and conditions discriminating against the bowlers, Sri Lanka's triple strike on the third morning proved an aberration.

That was evident in the positive approach adopted by Tendulkar and Raina at the outset on the fourth day. Tendulkar, who had been more sparing in his treatment of fuller deliveries amid pressure on day three, resumed his innings with a cover drive off Suraj Randiv. The seamers, while troubling Tendulkar occasionally with well-directed bouncers, were dealt with more harshly. Dammika Prasad, after striking Tendulkar on the helmet, was cracked for three fours through point; Dilhara Fernando, who induced Tendulkar to play an ill-executed upper cut - he had Tendulkar dropped off the same shot the previous day - was at the receiving end of his trademark straight drive.

Tendulkar shrugged off a couple of close shaves against Randiv - he padded up to deliveries that straightened but was saved by the bounce - by sweeping effectively against the turn and brought up his double with a paddle down to fine leg. 

Raina showed few signs of nerves in his maiden Test appearance, looking confident early in his innings. He didn't hesitate to step out against the spinners on the third day and began in a similar vein on the fourth, lofting Randiv over long-off. Unlike Tendulkar, Raina played the pitched-up deliveries with more comfort throughout his knock. He played his favourite slog-sweep to dispatch Randiv over midwicket, and brought up his ton with a drive through mid off. The celebration began the moment he connected; he clenched his fists, ran to the other end and soaked in the applause for an achievement that opened up India's options in their Test middle order. He was beaten by a Mendis legbreak shortly after lunch and spooned an easy catch to short midwicket but only after India had reached safety.

The batsmen that followed had plenty of time to adjust to variations in pace as well as frequent changes in length, and runs flowed at a healthy pace. This was on display in the manner that MS Dhoni settled in, stepping out to Mendis on just his fifth ball and pulling Prasad for consecutive boundaries. The spinners were heaved and slogged and Dhoni notched up another fifty.

Tillakaratne Dilshan salvaged some pride with a couple of quick wickets. Tendulkar was caught off an inside edge onto the pads, and Harbhajan Singh gifted a catch to midwicket. The resistance, however, continued with Dhoni and Abhimanyu Mithun occupying the crease for 21.4 overs before Dilshan struck again to snare the Indian captain.

Kumar Sangakkara kept three close-in catchers for much of the day, hoping the extra bounce would yield something. The seamers had a slip against Tendulkar, an additional leg slip for Raina, as well as a silly point for Dhoni when he was new to the crease. Perhaps Mendis could have come on much earlier than at the stroke of lunch. But their hopes were thwarted by a determined effort from Tendulkar, Raina and Dhoni, who have set up a third Test finale at the P Sara Stadium.