Pujara destroys England again after as magical Monty makes mark

He was in action early today, summoned for the seventh over by Alastair Cook, who was presumably still ruing the loss of the toss and the opportunity for batting. No side want to bat fourth on a surface helpful to spin bowling.

By then England had already secured the early wicket they craved. Jimmy Anderson, striving for a full length, was clipped for four off the first ball of the match.

But he swung the second late in to Gautam Gambhir’s pads and was rightly rewarded with an lbw verdict by umpire Tony Hill. But under a hot sun and with an attack of two fast bowlers and two spinners at his disposal, Cook had to discover early what was on offer.

It took Panesar a few overs to find an adequate length but at last he struck in his seventh of the day. Virender Sehwag, who had begun at his usual lick but was living dangerously with two near misses, advanced down the track, misread the length, and was bowled leg stump.

An over later Panesar had the man who is still the wicket of all wickets in this part of the world, Sachin Tendulkar. In the great man’s 316 Test innings he will not have received many balls that were quite so pesky to deal with.

He pushed forward, perhaps presuming he was legislating sufficiently for the ball turning away, but it ripped past his bat after pitching on leg stump and cannoned into off. Panesar’s delight knew no bounds and he had rekindled the debate about Tendulkar’s future at the age of 39.

For an hour either side of lunch Virat Kohli and, to a slightly lesser extent, Pujara were enchanting. Kohli had unfurled two offside drives for four which suggested he was in the mood to take the game away quickly.

But his adventurous spirit got the better of him and he attempted another drive off Panesar which went low in the air to Nick Compton at cover. The wicket was good news for England, the bad news was that the ball appeared to have gone through the surface.

When Graeme Swann knocked back Yuvraj Singh’s off stump in the next over, England were in the ascendant. At 119 for five anything was possible. They might have been batting by tea.

MS Dhoni, India’s captain, decided that selective boldness might be his best course. He did not play any big shots but he hustled and hurried England.

Panesar snared him immediately on being brought back into the attack. Dhoni leaned forward and edged a turning ball to Swann falling forward at second slip. The batsmen hung around while slow motion replays confirmed his worst fears. It was an uncommon delay for a series in which the decision review system is not being used because India refuse to use it.

England had a chance to finish off India quickly then but Pujara went sublimely on and Ravichandran Ashwin lent audacious, full-blooded support.

Pujara cut Anderson in the air to point on 17 but the ball landed just in front of Compton and edged Panesar to slip on 60. Anderson, diving to his left, could not hold on. On such half chances are Test matches and series won and lost.

Score at close: India 266-6

"We stuck at it well out there, especially early doors when we applied a lot of pressure to the Indian batsmen. It was probably something they didn’t expect — they won the toss and probably thought they’d be 300-plus with only a few wickets down at the end of the first day. But to have them five wickets down early was testament to how we applied the pressure.

"They built a really good partnership between Ashwin and Pujara and what we’re hoping is that tomorrow morning we can restrict them to a little under 300. That partnership has put a bit of momentum into India’s innings but I don’t think they expected us to dominate the first two sessions like that.

"Obviously, the moment of the day for me was the Prince of India, Sachin Tendulkar. I was absolutely delighted with that. They prepared a pitch that’s going to turn and bounce and against world-class cricketers I probably need every help that there is. That’s the kind of ball you have to bowl to these top players to get them out.

"There was slight disappointment that I didn’t play last week but it’s nice to be part of this match. It’s been good out there today."

We apologise to all cricket fans as we are unable to print live pictures from today’s play. This paper, along with other British media groups, is not publishing any live pictures from the Second Test in protest at the Indian cricket board’s refusal to grant access to certain major picture agencies which we view as a restriction on the freedom of the press.