Bell, Ballance and Buttler pile it on as England dominates

Dhawan goes early after the hosts declare at 569 for seven

July 29, 2014 12:41 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:31 pm IST - Southampton:

Ian Bell's played with pupose to broke his century-drought and in the company of Gary Ballance wore down the Indian attack. Photo: AP

Ian Bell's played with pupose to broke his century-drought and in the company of Gary Ballance wore down the Indian attack. Photo: AP

If Sunday was about Alastair Cook finding his runs, Monday revolved around another senior batsman, who just like the England captain, had suffered his share of the batting horrors until recently.

Ian Bell had gone 19 innings without a hundred but luckily for him, Cook drew all the negative coverage and the middle-order batsman could escape while just a few whispers about his poor form hung in the air.

The wait for that big knock finally bore fruition for Bell. His century (133 batting) helped reiterate England’s dominance over India on the second day of the third Test here at the Ageas Bowl.

Bell’s 21st Test ton set the tone and he reached his hundred with a flourish — a six off Ravindra Jadeja in an over that went for 21 runs. The century-maker inflicted maximum damage with a sequence of 6, 4, 6 and 4. Riding on Bell’s effort, England scored 452 for five at tea.

And just like on the opening day, Gary Ballance (156, 288b, 24x4) continued to be an effective thread that bound the first innings together. It wasn’t entirely all about despair for India as the second session yielded two wickets.

Shuffling the bowlers

M.S. Dhoni tested the patience of scorers in the press and commentary boxes with his innumerable changes that meant every bowler just had a one-over spell. In fact it was only in the 16th over after lunch that a bowler (Jadeja) got one more in a spell.

Unfortunately for the left-arm spinner, that was the over which Bell tore into.

Yet, India scalped Joe Root and Moeen Ali cheaply. Both tried to hustle Bhuvneswar Kumar but managed only edges. Root charged and reached out to the ball while Ali, tested on his weakness against the short-pitched ball, couldn’t resist the pull and miscued. Bell remained unhindered. His straight drive off Mohammed Shami, oozed class, and continued to shepherd England towards a 500 plus score.

He remained composed while his partners sought chaos primarily due to their itch for quick runs. Debutant Jos Buttler was no exception and he nearly got dismissed. But as there was an ambiguity around Rahane’s catch, Matt Prior’s successor breathed easy.

Earlier, England cruised in the morning with Ballance and Bell extending their good run and India had no respite. Its bowlers continued to be wayward and that added to the anguish.

Bell edged a four off Pankaj Singh through slips and when the frustrated seamer over-compensated, the batsman just flicked him for more.

Bell’s merry streak was matched by Ballance, who toyed with Bhuvneshwar and thrice redirected the seamer towards the fence.

The Indian seamers, especially Bhuvesnwar and Shami were erratic and provided fodder for a well-set duo. Even Dhoni’s spin-dice didn’t roll in his favour as Bell hoisted Jadeja and a solid 142-run third-wicket partnership kept England on course towards a massive total.

The host’s acceleration was evident from the manner in which it moved from 250 to 300, consuming just 59 balls, while its previous 50 needed 143 deliveries.

Ballance soon reached his 150 and a bit of luck aided India’s successful attempt towards splitting the partnership. Part-timer Rohit Sharma got turn and bounce, missed the edge, brushed Ballance’s leg but the appeal for caught behind was upheld.

It was a small compensation for India.

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