Cricket grounds do have spirits, and it is a sombre spirit which hangs over Edgbaston on Wednesday morning, as MS Dhoni and Andrew Strauss toss up. The Indian wins the toss, and having regard to the outcome of the previous two test matches, it's hardly surprising that he decides to bat.
Virender Sehwag, who has taken the place of Yuvraj Singh despite a failure at Northampton, gets off to an excellent start. Jocular but wrong Northamptonshire supporters suggest that Stuart Broad and James Anderson are not as good as Luke Evans and Dave Burton, but it almost appears they have a point as Sehwag reaches his fifty, twenty minutes before lunch, and reaches his hundred, twenty minutes after lunch. What a relief it must be for the English bowlers, when in the mid-afternoon play is suspended for ten minutes, due to sunlight shining off Shane Warne's forehead into the batsmen's eyes, and again moments after the resumption, when Graeme Swann removes the little Indian with a ball that turns through the gate to disturb the off-stump. That relief turns to joy, and that joy turns to rapture, as Swann accelerates through the Indian innings. By close of play, India are on 315-8 (Sehwag 123, Swann 6-65). Michael Atherton, writing his leader for The Times, comments how evenly the match seems to be poised: can the Indians, asks Atherton, summon enough runs to set Amit Mishra a reasonable target to bowl at in the final innings?
Some brutalist bowling from Stuart Broad sees him dismiss the final two Indian batsmen first thing on Thursday morning; but when the England innings starts at 11:30, the morning dew has lifted and Edgbaston has become an excellent batting pitch. Sreesanth and RP Singh bowl well, but the placid pitch complements the undoubted skills of Strauss and fellow opener Alistair Cook. It hardly seems fair on the Indians as the England score rattles along, like a tank engine chortling through a rural greensward.
It might, at this point, be expected that the pattern of the previous tests should be followed, that England should score a colossal score against a poor and unfit bowling attack. But in the mid-afternoon, MS Dhoni brings on little spinner Amit Mishra, and he is quickly able to penetrate the England batting unit: it's wickets galore, as nervous England batsman after nervous England batsman is deceived by Mishra, in scenes reminiscent of many England "performances" in the early to mid-nineties. There is some spirited resistance from Stuart Broad and Matthew Prior, but even they are only able to drag the score to 225 all out: precisely 100 behind.
The remainder of the match is a pitch battle between two excellent teams. During the second Indian innings, the batting is brave, as Rahul Dravid crafts out one of his slower innings, but there is little scope for a release, with the England bowling never less than excellent. Finally, Dravid plays no stroke and is out lbw to one of Ravi Bopara's little dobbers, and that proves to be the key needed to unlock the door to the Indian innings. In order to make sure Broad is fully steamed up for the Indian tail, Andrew Strauss cleverly keeps the tall fast bowler out of the attack for a few overs, preferring instead to let Bopara continue at new batsman Suresh Raina. The strategy pays unexpected dividends, as Bopara dismisses both Raina and Dhoni three overs later. Then, and only then, is Broad invited to bowl: and he duly delivers, to finally dismiss the Indians for 255.
That leaves England needing to score 356 to win, over almost five sessions. Surely too much? Perhaps not: due to Cook having a stomach bug, Ian Bell is promoted to open the batting with Alistair Cook. He launches an assault - for no other word is fit to explain it - on the Indian bowling. Sreesanth opens the bowling, but is overexcited, and by simply playing good shots against poor bowling, Bell is able to take 18 off Sreesanth's first over, and a further 16 in his second. Remarkably, by the fifth over, the England score reaches fifty, with Strauss having scored only two of the runs. Meeting mid-pitch, Strauss punches Bell's gloves, and sensing that the Indians are on the run, the England captain challenges his talented batsman to reach his century in the ten overs remaining before tea. Bell manages it with three overs to spare, and by the time the England openers tuck into their ham and pickle sandwiches, the score is 135 for 0 (Bell 112*, Strauss 17*). Sitting in the TMS commentary box, Henry Blofeld described Bell's innings as "absolutely splendid".
Alas, all good things must come to and end, and in the first over after, Bell surrenders his wicket, playing no stroke to a googly from Mishra. As one, the city of Birmingham stands to applaud Bell's innings. The remainder of the day passes unremarkably, however, as the now-recovered Cook and his captain continue to chip away at the Indian bowling. By the close of play, England are on 217-1, and it is understandable that MS Dhoni should be frowning as he walks back to the visitor's dressing room.
The final day is dominated by the pitch. It is now crumbling, and takes the spin offered by Mishra and Raina. When Strauss, looking a touch weary, chips Mishra to mid-wicket, a clutch of wickets fall as the incoming batsmen struggle to meet the difficult conditions. Mishra grows in confidence, and by lunch, it must be said that England look quite troubled at 279-5, with Bopara and Prior at the crease. There is great concern in the TMS commentary box that Bopara will buckle under the pressure. But no: he goes to another place in the afternoon, and try as Prior might to converse with the Essex batsman between overs, all Bopara is capable of saying is "I am going to bat splendidly today". So it proves. Finally, he concludes the day's play by clouting Mishra for a commanding six over mid-wicket, as England win an excellent match by five wickets.
