kumble the batsman.

London: India did everything in its power to shut England out of the third Test on a summer’s day here at The Oval

Resuming on 316 for four, India scored 664 before being dismissed on day two. No team in Test cricket’s 127-year history has scored more and lost. England was forced to bowl over a 1000 deliveries.

The Pataudi Trophy beckons.

There were half-centuries for Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, and M.S. Dhoni, and the realisation of a boyhood dream for Anil Kumble.

The legendary leg-spinner, in his 118th Test, scored his maiden century.

Zaheer Khan then had Andrew Strauss caught off a hook at fine-leg before England finished on 24 for one.

Tendulkar digs in

Earlier on Friday, the proceedings resembled a quest. Tendulkar, not unlike Tolkien’s Frodo, dug his toes in tiny cracks, climbing inch by treacherous inch, so he could finally cast off his burden.

He had for company disparate men: Dinesh Karthik, the young dragon-rider, a man who tamed his steed, but then stuck a foolhardy hand in its mouth; Sourav Ganguly, the prince of thieves, utterly charming, but steel beneath the dandy facade; Laxman, the wizard, his magic less certain than before, but his mind still keen.

Sticking to the script

Each man had stuck to the script — each had furthered the cause of the quest, each had left its plot as required. Karthik had shown Tendulkar what it was to be young again; Ganguly had boosted spirit, all the while knavishly eluding England’s designs; Laxman had temporarily borne Tendulkar’s burden, conjuring rare, beautiful magic.

Laxman’s role on Friday morning was particularly crucial. Tendulkar had resumed on 48, Laxman on 20. England, knowing it had defeated South Africa here in 2003 despite conceding 484 in the first innings, looked for early wickets.

Minimalist survival

With Tendulkar intent on minimalist survival, Laxman cloaked himself in the responsibility of hitting boundaries. The strategic importance of the decision can’t be over-stated: it kept the bowlers from settling, both in tactics and in execution. It added to Vaughan’s worries.

Laxman flicked Anderson before on-driving him. Both strokes owed themselves to his wrists: sinuous lines spider-webbed through an onside field of square-leg, backward square-leg, and mid-on. Once, Laxman held his bat firm and straight in defence: the ball raced past the practice strips on the off-side for four.

The luckless Ryan Sidebottom found Laxman’s edge. Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, dropped it. It was seemingly similar to Thursday, when Prior had dived and shelled Tendulkar. But, it wasn’t.

Prior’s trouble stems from how late he rises from an awkward, wide-based crouch. On Thursday, he had shifted his left leg inwards in response to Sidebottom’s inswing. That had robbed him off the power step needed in leaping in front of first slip.

On Friday, Prior took off of a steadier base; this time, the mistake lay in his choice. Where Thursday’s edge went finer having swung into the right-hander, Friday’s was widened by the lefty angle. It was first slip’s catch. Prior, in an attempt to atone, had given himself too much to do.

Sidebottom marched to fine-leg, clearly hurting. But his unshaven chin was up. The patrons of the Vauxhall End gave him a standing ovation.

Prior makes amends

Prior, however, made amends by catching Laxman off a rising Tremlett delivery outside off-stump. The drop had cost England 10 runs.

But, Prior’s other miss wasn’t as inexpensive. Tendulkar, with the century in sight, grew lighter. He cut Anderson into the hard square, then punched him through cover. The piece de resistance was the back-drive to an An derson inswinger:

Tendulkar had taken 166 balls to reach 60. From 60 to 80 took 22. Just as it seemed Tendulkar would shed his burden, Anderson angled a ball into him, drawing the edge to first slip. It was a curious stroke, for it sent out mixed signals: the bat face suggested an attempted guide, but the withdrawal of the bottom hand spoke of a desire to soften the edge.

Dhoni, the strong-man, his club at the ready, looked ungainly settling. The short, lifting delivery cramped him, but anything remotely full granted him release.

He swung at them, feet following the stroke, as he reached his half-century in 65 balls. He hammered Panesar over long-on: the ball hit the concrete steps and returned to the bowler before he could make his way to his mark.

Vaughan brought on Pietersen’s looped off-spin, drawing, no doubt, from the principle of catching flies with honey. Dhoni moved from 80 to 92 in two monstrous hits. But, he fell attempting a third.

Incredible strokes

Kumble’s century was punctuated by some of the most incredible strokes. He still rose on his toes — like an accordion — in defence, but in long, lunging strides conveyed the ball to the cover boundary.

A back-cut of Tremlett was nerdy, a drive off Panesar classical. In all, Kumble hit 16 fours and a six, as he talked Sreesanth into staying with him.

Kumble reached his hundred with a spot of slap-stick: he advanced down the track, dropped his bat and squeezed the ball between Prior’s legs — don’t ask how — before getting up off the pitch and saluting his team-mates. The Indian dressing room quivered with laughter; the joke, however, was on England.