Nottingham:England's Joe Root and James Anderson rewrote the record books with a Test record last-wicket stand but a docile Trent Bridge pitch threatened to have the last word in their series opener with India. The pair put on 198 to take England to 496 on the fourth day in reply to India's first innings 457. However, India were 167 for three in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 128 runs.
Virat Kohli was eight not out and Ajinkya Rahane, looking in fine touch, 18 not out. But just when India were on the verge of making a draw all but inevitable, they lost two well-set batsmen with the score on 140. First innings century-maker Murali Vijay (52) went down the pitch to part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali and got an edge which wicketkeeper Matt Prior held, although the batsman was so far out of his ground he could have been stumped as well.
Next ball Cheteshwar Pujara (55) cut at fast bowler Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes, at backward point, grabbed the catch at the second attempt after the ball hit his chest.
Earlier, Root made 154 not out -- his third score in excess of 150 in 18 Tests. Meanwhile, Anderson's personal best 81 was the third highest score by any Test match No 11 after Australian Ashton Agar's 98 against England at Trent Bridge last year and Tino Best's 95 for the West Indies, also against England, at Edgbaston in 2012.
The England duo's stand surpassed the previous tenth-wicket Test record of 163 -- shared by Agar and Phil Hughes in Nottingham last year.
It was the second tenth-wicket stand of this Test after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (58) and Mohammed Shami (51 not out) had put on 111 in India's first innings. And it meant this match was also the first in 137 years of Test cricket where both sides had seen their last-wicket duo share hundred partnerships and both number elevens Shami and Anderson had made fifties.
As India began their second innings, Vijay, who made 146 in the first innings, should have been out for nought when he edged England spearhead Anderson but Prior failed to get anything on the low chance.
But England did manage a wicket when Ali, taking the pitch out of the equation, struck in his first over to have the disbelieving Shikhar Dhawan caught and bowled off a full toss for a run-a-ball 29. England, after losing six wickets for 68 runs in the face of accurate bowling from Kumar and Ishant Sharma on Friday, resumed on 352 for nine. Root was 78 not out and Anderson 23 not out.
But India's seamers were unable to generate the same reverse swing they'd managed on Friday.Left-handed batsman Anderson was the initial aggressor on Saturday with a flurry of boundaries worthy of a top-order batsman. Then Root's two fours through the offside in as many Shami deliveries saw the 23-year-old to a hundred in 186 balls including 12 boundaries.
Anderson had so nearly batted England to a draw last time out against Sri Lanka at Headingley before being caught off a rising delivery off the penultimate ball of the match.
It was from such a delivery that Anderson gave a chance on 45 when he fended at Shami only for Vijay to drop the low gully catch. Anderson, whose previous best at this level was 34, completed a maiden fifty in his 95th Test by pulling Shami for his 11th four in just 61 balls.
The umpires had to intervene when Sharma and Root, with no Decision Review System this series, exchanged words after the bowler thought he had the batsman caught behind for 150.
Soon afterwards, Anderson still on his lunch score of 81 edged Kumar (five for 82) to Dhawan at first slip to end a near four-hour innings.
India 1st innings: 457
England 1st innings (overnight 352 for nine)
Alastair Cook b Shami 5
Sam Robson lbw Ishant 59
Gary Ballance lbw Ishant 71
Ian Bell c Dhoni b Sharma 25
Joe Root not out 154
Moeen Ali c Dhawan b Shami 14
Matt Prior c Dhoni b Kumar 5
Ben Stokes c Dhoni b Kumar 0
Stuart Broad lbw Kumar 47
Liam Plunkett b Kumar 7
James Anderson c Dhawan b Kumar 81
Extras: (B-6, LB-5, W-4, NB-13) 28
Total: (all out; 144.5 overs) 496
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-134, 3-154, 4-172, 5-197, 6-202,
7-202, 8-280, 9-298.
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 30.5-8-82-5, Mohammed Shami
29-3-128-2, Ishant Sharma 38-3-150-3, Ravindra Jadeja
35-5-80-0, Stuart Binny 10-0-37-0, Murali Vijay 2-0-8-0.
India 2nd innings:
Murali Vijay c Prior b Ali 52
Shikhar Dhawan c and b Ali 29
Cheteshwar Pujara c Stokes b Plunkett 55
Virat Kohli batting 8
Ajinkya Rahane batting 18
Extras (LB-2, NB-3) 5
Total (For 3 wickets in 48 overs) 167
Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-140, 3-140.
Bowling: James Anderson 9-4-21-0, Stuart Broad 11-3-35-0,
Liam Plunkett 12-1-42-1, Moeen Ali 7-0-39-2, B Stokes
9-2-28-0.
The story so far:
England were 352 for nine in reply to India's first innings 457, a deficit of 105 runs, at stumps on the third day. After resuming on 43 for one following the loss of struggling skipper Alastair Cook for five on Thursday, England got through Friday's morning session without losing a wicket.
But all that changed after lunch as Ishant Sharma, the only member of India's attack to have previously played a Test in England, took three for 29 in seven overs to turn 131 for one into 172 for four. Significantly, the tall paceman gained a measure of reverse swing that had largely eluded England's seamers as he countered a still-docile pitch. Fellow seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar followed up with a quartet of wickets on his way to Test-best figures of four for 61 in 25 overs.
His return came a day after Kumar made his highest Test score of 58 during an Indian tenth-wicket record stand against England of 111 with Mohammed Shami (51 not out) that put the visitors on top. However, England number 11 James Anderson, whose last innings ended in tears after his valiant effort to hold out for a draw in Sri Lanka's second Test victory at Headingley saw him dismissed off the penultimate ball, then kept Joe Root company for over an hour.
At the close the resolute Root was 78 not out and Anderson unbeaten on 23, with their last-wicket stand so far worth 54 runs.
Both Australia-born opener Sam Robson and Zimbabwe-born left-hander Gary Ballance were 59 not out at lunch. Robson, though, was lbw to Sharma without adding to his score. Replays suggested a thin inside edge but Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford's decision, given the ball hit Robson's back pad, was understandable.
And with the Decision Review System not being used this series because of Indian objections, it was the end of a second-wicket partnership worth 125. Sharma struck again with a fine delivery that straightened to have Ballance unquestionably lbw for 71. Ian Bell, in his 101st Test, looked in superb touch making a 25 that included 24 runs in boundaries.
But Bell withdrew his bat too late from an attempted cut shot off Sharma and feathered a catch through to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Shami then produced a lifting delivery which Moeen Ali, carelessly turning his head away from the ball, gloved to Shikhar Dhawan in the slips.
Kumar then rocked England with a burst of four for 16 in 26 balls.Matt Prior (five) was given out caught behind by opposing keeper Dhoni, standing up to the stumps. Replays suggested the noise that prompted Sri Lanka umpire Kumar Dharmasena's raised finger had come from the bat hitting the pad but, with no DRS, a disbelieving Prior had to go. There was no controversy regarding Ben Stokes's exit for a duck when the recalled all-rounder, pushing away from his body, was also caught behind off Kumar.
All-rounder Stuart Broad, who had been severely critical of the state of his Nottinghamshire home pitch, counter-attacked after tea.
To the first delivery with the new ball, left-handed batsman Broad stroked Kumar through extra cover for four as England avoided the follow-on. But having made a dashing 47, he was lbw to an inswinging delivery from Kumar to end a quickfire stand of 78.
Broad made his displeasure at Dharmasena's decision clear but replays confirmed the ball had pitched in line and would have hit the stumps. Kumar then bowled Liam Plunkett to leave England 298 for nine. Anderson then did more than hold an end up and twice expertly reverse-swept left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for four.
