Dileep Premachandran presents the plays of the day
Dileep Premachandran at Lord's19-Jul-2007
Slapstick comedy: Dinesh Karthik messes up a dolly of a catch © Getty Images
Drop of the day – The cap doesn’t fit: Dinesh Karthik’s attempt tocatch Andrew Strauss just before lunch was pure slapstick. There was alittle anticipatory jump, even though the ball was coming to him at eyelevel, and it then burst through his hands to knock his cap off. India’sbest outfielder had spilled the easiest of chances, and provided theperfect snapshot to encapsulate a mediocre day for his team.Top shot – Zak gets Cook-ed: Zaheer Khan’s first spell was a trulywoeful one and, when he dropped one short, Alastair Cook was so quicklyinto position that the pull just rocketed to the square-leg fence. Therewas a peachy Michael Vaughan cover-drive off Sourav Ganguly later in theday, but Cook’s aggressive intent was what established English dominance.Ball of the day – How to make an impression: Your new-ball bowlershave been as effective as the wolf huffing and puffing to blow the house down, and you turn instead to your former captain, a man who bowlsat 70 mph. With his fourth ball, he gets you a wicket, breaching thedefence of the dangerous Cook. Eleven years after making a century ondebut at Lord’s, Sourav Ganguly’s timing is once again spot on.Shocker of the day: Anil Kumble’s first ball was an attemptedgoogly. It emerged from the hand as a looping waist-high full toss.Strauss was so surprised that he could only put it away for a single.How not to get a hundred: Premeditated charges have caused plentyof batsmen grief against Kumble in the 17 summers since he made his Testdebut. And when Strauss chose the Light-Brigade option when on 96, he paida heavy price. Having committed to the stroke, he might as well have givenit a wallop but an attempt at cuteness only found Dravid’s hands at slip.The new face of English cricket: Monty Panesar is everywhere,smiling enigmatically at you from NPower hoardings and stickers. A yearago, Duncan Fletcher appeared reluctant to play him. Now, an England teamwithout Monty is almost unthinkable. And with Flintoff, Harmison andHoggard out of commission, he’s now the most senior bowler in the side.Missing banner of the day: Time was when Indian fans would arriveat a game in England with those hand-painted banners that said Give ’emCurry. No longer. It would be a futile taunt anyway, given how eagerly theEnglish have embraced curry – or their version of it.
