Bumper-wars and a long, long wait
ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the second Test between West Indies and India in Bridgetown
Sriram Veera at the Kensington Oval
01-Jul-2011
After standing up to the fire from Fidel Edwards, Abhinav Mukund gets one with his name written on it • Associated Press
The wait of the day
Rahul Dravid worked the ball uppishly towards midwicket where Adrian Barath flung himself forward. Barath claimed the catch, Dravid stood his ground and the umpires went upstairs. The television replays were inconclusive. The third umpire deliberated. The clock ticked by. The on-field umpires got into a huddle. The clock ticked by. More replays were shown and finally the decision went in favour of Dravid. According to the scorer, play was held up for seven minutes. It felt like a lifetime.
Rahul Dravid worked the ball uppishly towards midwicket where Adrian Barath flung himself forward. Barath claimed the catch, Dravid stood his ground and the umpires went upstairs. The television replays were inconclusive. The third umpire deliberated. The clock ticked by. The on-field umpires got into a huddle. The clock ticked by. More replays were shown and finally the decision went in favour of Dravid. According to the scorer, play was held up for seven minutes. It felt like a lifetime.
The bumper-war of the day - II
Fidel Edwards like to use the bouncer. Abhinav Mukund was dismissed by a lifter in the first innings and it was no surprise when Edwards decided to go after him again. One delivery reared up sharply and Mukund took his eyes off the ball and got whacked on the helmet. He negotiated the next delivery and eyeballed the bowler in almost theatrical fashion. Edwards had the last laugh, though, when he eventually got one to climb more and kiss Mukund's right glove.
Fidel Edwards like to use the bouncer. Abhinav Mukund was dismissed by a lifter in the first innings and it was no surprise when Edwards decided to go after him again. One delivery reared up sharply and Mukund took his eyes off the ball and got whacked on the helmet. He negotiated the next delivery and eyeballed the bowler in almost theatrical fashion. Edwards had the last laugh, though, when he eventually got one to climb more and kiss Mukund's right glove.
The near run-out of the day
Every now and then, Rahul Dravid makes a really bad judgement over a run. Today, he patted a delivery to the right of backward point and called VVS Laxman for a single. Halfway down the track, he realised he had made a poor call. Three-quarters down the length of the pitch, he gave up. The ball flew past him and missed the stumps. Dravid may have survived, but he slammed his bat on the turf couple of times in disgust.
Every now and then, Rahul Dravid makes a really bad judgement over a run. Today, he patted a delivery to the right of backward point and called VVS Laxman for a single. Halfway down the track, he realised he had made a poor call. Three-quarters down the length of the pitch, he gave up. The ball flew past him and missed the stumps. Dravid may have survived, but he slammed his bat on the turf couple of times in disgust.
The bumper-war of the day - II
It was the inevitable battle between Edwards and Virat Kohli. Edwards bounced, Kohli hopped. Edwards bounced, Kohli fended off edges just clear of short-leg. Edwards bounced and Kohli, perhaps tired of jumping around, lashed a pull that cleared midwicket. Edwards could only bowl three more deliveries at Kohli before he was taken off the attack.
It was the inevitable battle between Edwards and Virat Kohli. Edwards bounced, Kohli hopped. Edwards bounced, Kohli fended off edges just clear of short-leg. Edwards bounced and Kohli, perhaps tired of jumping around, lashed a pull that cleared midwicket. Edwards could only bowl three more deliveries at Kohli before he was taken off the attack.
Sriram Veera is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo