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Brilliant Broad returns to form

Rory Dollard
Saturday 23 July 2011 20:29 BST
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Rahul Dravid did what Sachin Tendulkar could not by registering a first Lord's century but a resurgent Stuart Broad's handed England a handsome lead in the first Test against India.

Tendulkar's pursuit of his hundredth international hundred dominated the build-up to this historic 2000th Test, but while he made just 34, his fellow veteran sealed his place on the famous honours board with 103no - his 33rd Test ton.

Broad, who had been in danger of being dropped for this match, led the England attack with four for 37 as they dismissed the tourists for 286.

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook then reached five without loss after four overs.

For Dravid, the day marked the end of a 15-year mission to register three figures at the home of cricket, having made 95 on debut in 1996.

England struggled to make openers Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund play at the start of the day, but Mukund freed his arms as the morning progressed, flashing a couple of times at James Anderson and taking successive fours off Chris Tremlett.

Broad, bowling fuller than in recent times and relocating his ability to swing the ball, had him plumb lbw with a yorker but bafflingly failed to appeal.

His reward came when he found the gap between Gambhir's bat and pad, clean bowling the left-hander for 15.

Broad continued to pitch it up and had a second success when Mukund dragged on to his off stump to fall for 49.

That brought the veterans Tendulkar and Dravid together, the latter facing 13 dot balls before taking four off Anderson.

Tendulkar eased his own nerves with two through cover and then received a bonus as Kevin Pietersen delivered four overthrows.

The bowler, Broad, rebuked England's first-innings hero and the pair exhanged some cross words.

At lunch, India were 102 for two.

After the break, India's key men threatened to take the game away from England with a series of wonderful strokes.

Tendulkar got the afternoon session under way with two boundaries off Anderson's first over, the second an imperious stroke into the off side.

There were four more off Tremlett, who was eased through extra-cover with little more than a push.

Tendulkar's sixth boundary came from only his 36th delivery, once again piercing the infield with a fine cover drive.

The 50 partnership came in short order, with Dravid picking up the baton soon after.

First he guided Tremlett effortlessly to the third man ropes and then he milked Anderson for three boundaries in four deliveries, each one a triumph of timing.

Despite the flurry of runs Tremlett was having some joy against Tendulkar, beating the bat on a handful of occasions.

Forty overs were down before Andrew Strauss went for spin in the form of Graeme Swann but it was the reintroduction of Broad that did the damage.

He took just four balls to get the prize wicket of Tendulkar, shaping one away, inviting the drive and celebrating joyously as Swann snared the edge at second slip.

Despite his elegant strokeplay, Tendulkar had again fallen short at Lord's.

India's 158 for three could, and should, have got even worse as the rampant Broad saw two catches shelled in his next over.

Strauss made the first error, dropping VVS Laxman at first slip on nought, before another peach from Broad took Dravid's edge and was put down in the cordon by a diving Swann.

Dravid's half-century came off 98 balls but Laxman could not cash in and lifted Tremlett tamely to fine leg to depart for 10.

India opted to send Suresh Raina in ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni but the captain's arrival was delayed by only two balls as Swann pinned the former leg before for a duck.

Dravid and Dhoni killed the bowlers' momentum after tea, playing gentle, risk-free cricket.

Dravid, in particular, looked a different player to the one who had put the hosts to the sword at the start of the afternoon session and the 50 partnership took 137 balls to materialise.

England gladly took the new ball at 235 for five and it quickly did its job.

Tremlett was the beneficiary, finding the edges of Dhoni (28) and Harbhajan Singh (nought) in the space of three balls to leave the tourists' seven down. Dravid was on 80 when the wickets fell and, with Praveen Kumar playing a shot a ball at the the other end, he upped his run-rate accordingly.

On 98 he forced Tremlett off his pads for two, pumping his fist to record a significant landmark in a career littered with them.

Broad bounced out Praveen (17) for his fourth wicket, while Anderson skittled Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma without scoring.

The England openers safely negotiated an unwanted five-over mini-session, with the lead 193 at stumps.

PA

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