Mumbai, November 24
The second day of the second Test today revived England’s hope in a manner easily surpassing the fourth day of the first Test at Ahmedabad. They are 178 for two in the first innings, still 149 behind India’s 327 all out. Yet, they can aspire for a win here, which wasn’t the case on Day 4 at Ahmedabad.

The two most important batsmen of the team, both unbeaten, form the bedrock of England’s hope.

The most admirable Alastair Cook’s genius is limited; that of Kevin Pietersen is somewhat boundless. Cook is an ideal defender, Pietersen the team’s enforcer. Both have won Tests for England with decisive knocks. For the team to win in India, there must be a confluence of their methods, defence alternating with offence at the decisive moments.

Pietersen had been forced to review his methods during the two failures in the first Test in Ahmedabad. His friend-confidante Shane Warne, a commentator here, said on TV that Pietersen admitted to him before the start of play today that he was facing mental disquiet in Ahmedabad — that his mind “was a bit of a scramble" there. His two dismissals had sown seeds of doubt in his mind. Twice he had tried offence, twice he had failed, visibly nervous, rattled.

Yet, when the decisive moment arrived this afternoon, Pietersen seized with his accustomed pugnacity – he had overcome the doubt and the fear. He walked in at 68 for two after Pragyan Ojha had removed Nick Compton and Ian Trott in nine balls. Pietersen came in with long, certain steps and faced his first balls two minutes later, in the 35th over. From the batsman’s point of view, it was a good ball to receive first-up -- Harbhajan Singh gave him a short one outside off. Pietersen was able to free his arms and calmly drive it through covers for a four. Pietersen is not a diffident young man lacking in confidence, but that shot surely strengthened it.

Tea was taken after the next over from Ojha.

Pietersen resumed in the attacking mode after play restarted. The fourth and fifth balls of the 37th over gave Pietersen the opportunity to attack again; one was cut for four, the other lofted for another one over midwicket.

Pietersen was playing his strokes with the utmost assurance. The failures of Ahmedabad seemed to be from quite another age and time.

Cook, of course, was Cook — confident, careful and responsible. He was more adventurous here than in his two wonderful knocks in the first Test. He has already hit 10 fours in his unbeaten 87 today, and also the only six of the England innings -- a lovely strike over long-on off Ojha.

Pietersen handled Ojha — to whom he fell in the both innings of the first Test — with greater assurance. He used his feet against the left-arm spinner when occasion demanded, and pulled off whatever he was attempting. He used his feet to Ojha when he first hit him for a four today with a sumptuous straight-drive in the 42nd over. The England master hit Ojha for another four, played him with prudence otherwise, and ended up making 19 off the 37 balls he faced from him.

In this innings, Pietersen has managed to banish the ghosts who hover over his head when he faces left-arm spinners -- to whom he owes 25 of his 153 dismissals in Tests. The figure and the percentage (16.33%) are quite high, but it could well be a red herring -- a man cannot score over 7,000 Test runs with a flaw that glaring.

Pietersen was in supreme command today. His drives on either side of the wicket sent down a frisson of thrill down the watcher’s spine, such was their perfection. He reached the pitch of the ball with his easy stride, or stayed back and played with decision in aggression or defence.

The 62 runs he’s made from 85 balls have brought alive the greatest threat he represents to India -- he can bat India towards the edge of defeat in a couple of sessions. He had scattered the close catchers by the end of play and will try to do the same tomorrow morning.

Today morning, England finally caught out India’s Cheteshwar Pujara in a weak moment — his first dismissal in the series. He had extended his 114 to 135 before being stumped. He had been leaving his crease to reach the ball, which was doing odd things when England bowled, and fell to Swann, who took three wickets today.

Score board

India 1st innings

Pujara st Prior b Swann 135
R Ashwin lbw b Panesar 68
Harbhajan lbw b Swann 21
Zaheer c Bairstow b Swann 11
Ojha not out 0
Extras 2
Total (all out; 115.1 overs) 327
Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-52, 3-60, 4-118, 5-119, 6-169, 7-280, 8-315, 9-316

Bowling

Broad 12-1-60-0
Monty 47-12-129-5
Swann 34.1-7-70-4
Patel 4-1-6-0

England 1st innings

Cook batting 87
Compton c Sehwag b Ojha 29
Trott lbw Ojha 0
Pietersen batting 62
Extras 0
Total (2 wkts in 65 overs) 178
Fall of wickets 1-66, 2-68

Bowling

Ashwin 22-5-54-0
Ojha 21-3-65-2
Zaheer 8-4-12-0
Harbhajan 14-0-47-0
Yuvraj 3-0-12-0

Mumbai, November 24
Off-spinner Graeme Swann, who on Saturday became only the 14th Englishman to claim 200 wickets in Test cricket, feels his team had a lot of tough work left to do before thinking about a win in the ongoing second Test against India in Mumbai.

“I wouldn’t say we are in a particularly strong position in the game. We are in a good position but we are not at that stage where we can say that we will win this one. We have got a lot of hard work ahead of us,” said Swann, who accounted for four wickets, including three in 10 balls on Saturday.Swann finished with fine figures of four for 70 to help England bowl out India for 327.

In reply England were 178 for two, 149 runs behind going into the third day of the game.

“We are still 150 runs behind so we won’t be talking about milestones and centuries and things like that. We know we have to build as big a lead as possible, so that we can have a crack and win this game,” Swann said.

Swann said he enjoyed bowling with left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who claimed five for 129, in India’s first innings. “Monty bowled magnificently on Friday. It was great to see. I am a big advocate of playing with two spinners,” he said. — PTI

Ahmedabad, Nov 24
After being finally dismissed by England — after defying them for over 1,0wd minutes, scoring 382 runs in three innings —Cheteshwar Pujara must have been a tired man. But not too tired to risk life and limb fielding at short-leg.

The England batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook mainly, swept, cut and pulled very regularly against the three Indian spinners. Balls flew past the legs and ears of the men in catching positions, and Pujara was hit flush on his side by a shot from Cook.“I have got little bit of soreness on my rib but I should be fine,” he said.

England also would be suffering from some soreness over Pujara. He’s given them much time to ponder his dismissal, in vain for 790 balls. The English media wanted to know from R Ashwin if it’s possible to get Pujara out in any particular manner — Ashwin said yes, the feat is possible and he himself has achieved it many times. He said LBW was the likely way to get him out.

However, it took a stumping to defeat Pujara today. This was his first stumping in first-class and List A cricket, though it’s rumoured that he was once out stumped in junior cricket.

Clearly, the man is without failings, perhaps the best man to emerge as a Test prospect for India since VVS Laxman.Pujara himself is not averse to playing One-day cricket for India. “I can play the ODI format as well,” he said today.

“In the domestic cricket, I have been very successful in the Challenger Trophies, and I think I will get my chance in the ODI format as well. I just need to keep going as a batsman.”

Test cricket lacks glamour, and isn’t promoted. Outside the ground, large queues form, and many people tell the horror stories of acquiring a ticket, then getting past the intimidating security cordon to indulge in the harmless activity of watching a cricket match. T20 is said to be the new kid on the block, the future, even.

Yet, Test cricket is the format that professionals believe is the toughest to excel in. Pujara is made for Test cricket, just as the peerless Andrew Strauss seemed to be. Sachin Tendulkar, in the past, has said that Test cricket should be made more lucrative than the shortest form of the game.

Indeed, it’s a travesty that someone like Pujara earns a fraction of what, say, Ravindra Jadeja makes from the IPL. Pujara and the other Test specialists — who are Test specials, actually — must not earn less than T20 specialists. That’s one way of respecting the pre-eminence of Tests.

Mohali, November 24
The Day One of Punjab-Saurashtra Ranji Trophy Group C match had Sandeep Sharma’s name etched all over it. Cruising at 85/2 at one time they were devastated as Patiala pacer Sandeep (7/25) devoured the visiting team (90 all out) before the sun had hardly touched it’s zenith.

An eerie silence prevailed over Saurashtra dressing room as the team battled to come to terms with the twin strikes thrice (in 23nd, 25th and 27th over) to leave them in pell mell.

Bowling in right areas with express pace, the wiry speedster had Saurashtra batsmen,(Jaydev Shah and Shitanshu Kotak) edging thick and fast in the slip cordon. Ravindra Jadeja, Shitanshu Kotak and co were all gone in no time.

A couple of ghastly LBWs, frequent uprooting of timber and Sandy left for pavillion with calm written all over his face. The pitch assisted seamers but showed hardly any sign of a devil, albiet for a short while when a hard-nosed bowler, all of 19 years, decided to wreak unprecedented havoc. And Saurashtra was ripped apart in mere 27.1 overs.

Punjab batsmen though could be blamed for undoing all his hardwork as they too lost five wickets in reply to reach 125/5. The consolation however is that they have gained crucial first innings lead. Wicket-keeper Uday Kaul (4) and Bipul Sharma (13) were at the crease when day ended with Punjab leading by 35 runs. Except for Bhushan Chauhan (29) and Sagar Jogiyani (41) none of the Saurashtra batsmen could reach the double-digit mark. Saurashtra lost last eight wickets for just 17 runs.

For Punjab, Jiwanjot Singh was yet again among runs as he scored 61 off 128 balls. Jiwanjot and opener Karan Goel (26) added 70 runs for the first wicket. However, the middle-order slumped from 70/1 to 125 for five at the end of the day. Siddharth Trivedi (2/37), Sandip Maniyar (2/8) shared 4 wickets.

Score board

Saurashtra 90

Punjab 125/5 (52.0 ov)

Saurashtra (1st innings)
Pathak c Uday b Gony 8
Chauhan b Sandeep 29
Jogiyani b Siddharth 41
Jadeja lbw b Sandeep 5
Shah c Amitoze b Sandeep 1
Kotak c sub (Gurkeerat) b Sandeep 0
Vasavada b Sandeep 3
Maniar lbw b Sandeep 0
Unadkat not out 0
B Jadeja b Sandeep 0
Trivedi c Uday b Siddharth 1
Extras 2
Total (all out in 27.1 overs) 90
Fall of wickets 1-12, 2-73, 3-85, 4-85, 5-85, 6-88, 7-88, 8-89, 9-89, 10-90

Bowling

Gony 6-0-29-1
Sandeep 11-3-25-7
Siddharth 8.1-2-18-2
Amitoze 2-0-16-0

Punjab (1st innings)

Jiwanjot c Maniar b Unadkat 61
K Goel cJogiyani b Trivedi 26
Sidhana lbw b Trivedi 0
Mandeep c Jogiyani b Maniar 12
Uday batting 4
Amitoze lbw b Maniar 0
Bipul batting 13
Extras 9
Total (5 wkts in 52 overs) 125
Fall of wickets 1-70, 2-70, 3-104, 4-104, 5-105

Bowling

Unadkat 15-6-25-1
Maniar 10-5-8-2
Trivedi 12-2-37-2
Jadeja 15-5-48-0

Rohtak, November 24
Rahul Dalal remained unbeaten on 64 as Haryana ended day one on 221 for five against Baroda in a Ranji Trophy Group B match.

Dalal faced 117 balls during his half-century knock and hit just five boundaries. He shared 86 runs with Sachin Rana (42) for the fifth wicket to take Haryana forward after the hosts lost their first four batsmen at the score of 96. Haryana's scoring rate was relatively slow as the home team batsmen could manage a run-rate of just 2.27 in the 97 overs they faced in the opening day of the match after electing to bat.

Apart from Dalal and Rana, opener Rahul Dewan (48) and Sunny Singh were the other notable run-scorers for Haryana. At stumps, Sandeep Singh (17 not out) was giving Dalal company at the crease. Murtuja Vahora and off-spinner Utkarsh Patel picked up two wickets each for Baroda, giving away 46 and 54 runs respectively.

Unmukt Chand and Sh[ikhar Dhawan smashed hundreds for Delhi against Tamil Nadu while Rohit Sharma and Hiken Shah made three-figure scores in Mumbai's contest against Hyderabad on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy fourth round matches on Saturday.

Chand (134 not out) was batting alongside Mohit Sharma (40 not out) as Delhi made 287 for one by close of play at the Feroz Shah Kotla here. Captain Dhawan shared a 205-run partnership with opening partner Chand before being dismissed on 104. In Hyderabad, Mumbai ended day one at 325 for two against the hosts, thanks to Shah (154 not out) and Sharma (102 not out).

Brief Scores: Haryana: 221/5 in 97 overs (R Dalal 64*, R Dewan 48; M Vahora (2/46), Utkarsh (2/54). — Agencies

Sao Paulo, November 24
Lewis Hamilton prepared for an emotional farewell to McLaren with the fastest time in practice for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday.

The Briton, who took his 2008 Formula One title at Interlagos and arrived in Brazil after winning the U.S. Grand Prix in Texas last Sunday, lapped the anti-clockwise layout with a best time of one minute 14.131 seconds in sunny but hazy morning conditions.

The 27-year-old, who joins Mercedes next season, then lapped in 1:14.026 in the heat of the afternoon.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, the championship leader who is favourite to clinch his third successive title on Sunday, was second fastest in both sessions.

He was just 0.009 off Hamilton's pace before lunch and 0.274 slower after the break.

However, the 25-year-old German set his morning time on this year's Pirelli tyres while Hamilton's came in a test of next year's prototype rubber.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Vettel's only title rival but 13 points off the lead, was fifth on both timesheets - 0.261 and 0.566 slower respectively than the quickest McLaren.

Hamilton, who welled up with emotion in a BBC interview earlier in the week, said he was savouring every moment of the weekend.

"I just took some pictures of my engineers. I'll take some pictures of my mechanics later on today and I said we have to take a picture every day," he told reporters after practice. "This is one of the best Fridays we've had for a long, long time. It's a perfect last Friday to have.

"I feel very good at the moment. we're definitely strong, just as we were in the last three or four races," said the Briton.

"But here is so tough on the tyres. I hope that we can continue to compete with them (Red Bull) tomorrow. That would be the best Saturday to have a pole, for sure." Vettel said the track had been very slippery but was happy with his day's work.

"It was quite hot today and, in terms of track conditions, not that easy," he said. Australian Mark Webber was third in the morning and afternoon while McLaren's Jenson Button was fourth in the first session. Alonso's Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa was fourth after lunch.

Spaniard Alonso must finish on the podium on Sunday to have any hope of taking his third title while Vettel will be champion regardless of other results if he can secure fourth place or better. "We have not yet found the ideal balance on the car, so there is still a lot of work to be done with the engineers going into the rest of the weekend," said the Spaniard, mindful also that the weather is expected to turn wet at the weekend.

"Our targets are clear but also difficult to achieve." Hamilton has raced for McLaren for all of his Formula One career and could face a barren spell at Mercedes, a team that has been largely uncompetitive this year with their only highlight Nico Rosberg's win in China. — Reuters