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Tea England 381 for 3 (Pietersen 29*, Bell 3*) lead India 316 by 65 runs
Alastair Cook was given another reprieve on the second morning © BCCI
The feeling of helplessness that enveloped much of India's horrendous tours of England and Australia descended again on MS Dhoni's side on the third morning at Eden Gardens, as two of the most bloody-minded batsmen in world cricket, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, set about grinding down toothless bowling. After lunch, India managed to dismiss both of them, but that didn't alter England's dominance of the match.
The moment typifying India's ineptness was Ishant Sharma putting down an absolute dolly off his own bowling when Cook was on 156. A rare Cook mistake sent the ball looping towards Ishant at waist height and at slow pace, but Ishant contrived to fluff that chance, the ball missing his palm and hitting the wrist. Ishant was left scratching his head in disappointment, while MS Dhoni maintained his famously expressionless demeanour.
Neither the old ball nor the new one swung, and though there was some uneven bounce - Cook was once surprised by a lifter from Ishant that struck the bat handle - the batsmen weren't tested much by the quicks as they wiped out the deficit.
India's spinners turned in a much-improved effort after Thursday's disappointing show, bowling accurately with the old ball in the first hour before getting some bounce and turn with the shiny one. In the second session, they got some help from the pitch as well, spinning the ball past the outside edge several times, and asking questions of the well-set Cook and Trott.
Nothing took the shine off Cook's golden tour, though, as he completed 24 hours of batting in the series, the longest day for India's bowlers. As usual there was no extravagance from him, patiently blocking or leaving countless deliveries, before cashing in on those that were over pitched or on his pads.
Trott had missed out in the first two Tests, but not this time. He was cautious early in the morning, but soon helped himself to the gifts offered by India's bowlers, especially Zaheer Khan and Ishant. Zaheer gave him several deliveries on the pads to put away, while Ishant bowled plenty short and wide. Before long, Trott was calmly dispatching R Ashwin's variation, the carrom ball, for four, and walking out of the crease before driving.
When England's tailenders were out in the middle practising their batting during the lunch break, one wondered why they bothered, given how bleak India's chances of prising apart the Cook-Trott combination looked. The stand finally came to an end on 173 when Pragyan Ojha managed to get a flat delivery to spin away and take Trott's outside edge to Dhoni.
Trott fell 13 short of a hundred, but Cook seemed set for a double, given his massive powers of concentration, and unquenchable thirst for runs. However, Cook too fell short of the milestone, run-out on 190 after a brain-fade. After Kevin Pietersen clipped a ball to square leg, Cook took a few strides before turning back. The ball went to India's best fielder, Virat Kohli, who scored a direct hit after Cook jumped back and lifted his bat to avoid the throw. Cook hadn't grounded his bat, so there was no question of him escaping on account of evasive action, and he was run-out for the first time in his Test career.
Though India had removed both of England's accumulators, they still had to deal with the more aggressive threat provided by Kevin Pietersen, who was already nonchalantly whipping balls from outside off to the leg-side boundary. With less than 10 minutes to tea, he launched Ojha for a straight six, and looked set to increase England's tempo in their quest for a match-winning lead.
Alastair Cook was given another reprieve on the second morning © BCCI
The feeling of helplessness that enveloped much of India's horrendous tours of England and Australia descended again on MS Dhoni's side on the third morning at Eden Gardens, as two of the most bloody-minded batsmen in world cricket, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, set about grinding down toothless bowling. After lunch, India managed to dismiss both of them, but that didn't alter England's dominance of the match.
The moment typifying India's ineptness was Ishant Sharma putting down an absolute dolly off his own bowling when Cook was on 156. A rare Cook mistake sent the ball looping towards Ishant at waist height and at slow pace, but Ishant contrived to fluff that chance, the ball missing his palm and hitting the wrist. Ishant was left scratching his head in disappointment, while MS Dhoni maintained his famously expressionless demeanour.
Neither the old ball nor the new one swung, and though there was some uneven bounce - Cook was once surprised by a lifter from Ishant that struck the bat handle - the batsmen weren't tested much by the quicks as they wiped out the deficit.
India's spinners turned in a much-improved effort after Thursday's disappointing show, bowling accurately with the old ball in the first hour before getting some bounce and turn with the shiny one. In the second session, they got some help from the pitch as well, spinning the ball past the outside edge several times, and asking questions of the well-set Cook and Trott.
Nothing took the shine off Cook's golden tour, though, as he completed 24 hours of batting in the series, the longest day for India's bowlers. As usual there was no extravagance from him, patiently blocking or leaving countless deliveries, before cashing in on those that were over pitched or on his pads.
Trott had missed out in the first two Tests, but not this time. He was cautious early in the morning, but soon helped himself to the gifts offered by India's bowlers, especially Zaheer Khan and Ishant. Zaheer gave him several deliveries on the pads to put away, while Ishant bowled plenty short and wide. Before long, Trott was calmly dispatching R Ashwin's variation, the carrom ball, for four, and walking out of the crease before driving.
When England's tailenders were out in the middle practising their batting during the lunch break, one wondered why they bothered, given how bleak India's chances of prising apart the Cook-Trott combination looked. The stand finally came to an end on 173 when Pragyan Ojha managed to get a flat delivery to spin away and take Trott's outside edge to Dhoni.
Trott fell 13 short of a hundred, but Cook seemed set for a double, given his massive powers of concentration, and unquenchable thirst for runs. However, Cook too fell short of the milestone, run-out on 190 after a brain-fade. After Kevin Pietersen clipped a ball to square leg, Cook took a few strides before turning back. The ball went to India's best fielder, Virat Kohli, who scored a direct hit after Cook jumped back and lifted his bat to avoid the throw. Cook hadn't grounded his bat, so there was no question of him escaping on account of evasive action, and he was run-out for the first time in his Test career.
Though India had removed both of England's accumulators, they still had to deal with the more aggressive threat provided by Kevin Pietersen, who was already nonchalantly whipping balls from outside off to the leg-side boundary. With less than 10 minutes to tea, he launched Ojha for a straight six, and looked set to increase England's tempo in their quest for a match-winning lead.