India 146 for 4 (Kohli 46*, Dhoni 29*, Anderson 3-31) trail England 330 by 184 runsLive scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli, who has had a poor series, ground it out for India on the third morning © BCCI
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Matches: India v England at Nagpur
Series/Tournaments: England tour of India
India had the wicketless session they desperately needed on the third morning in Nagpur although it was slow progress by Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. However, the pair had little option but to be cautious due to the combination of India’s poor overnight position, the slow pitch and accurate bowling. By lunch the deficit was still a significant 184 with the match approaching the half-way mark.
As with many players in the India team both Kohli and Dhoni are men under pressure; Kohli because of a lean series at the end of a profitable year and Dhoni because he is leading a side that is underperforming while his own returns have not been overwhelming. So it was to their credit that they resisted during the session, shelving the free-flowing scoring they are known for. It was another example, as with Joe Root, that survival is not the main issue on this surface.
The intensity of the previous evening had diluted somewhat although the England attack offered precious few scoring options during a session that yielded 59 runs in 32 overs. James Anderson, the star of the second evening, began with a four-over spell – surprisingly his only bowl of the morning – during which he found Dhoni’s outside edge through an empty slip cordon but as with so many in this match it would not have carried except to a ridiculously close catcher.
There was the occasional boundary to punctuate the dot balls. Kohli elegantly drove Tim Bresnan wide of mid-off and later picked off one that was a touch wide from Monty Panesar. There was one delivery that got England, and Graeme Swann, excited when Kohli received one which bounced and was glanced through leg slip.
Alastair Cook fiddled with his field during the session, having catchers on the drive in various positions but against batsmen intent largely on survival it was mighty tough work to make an impression. It highlighted, if that was required, the brilliance of Anderson the previous day. The new ball is due in seven overs and that should signal a push from England.
