da bet7k: Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan bowled India Under-19 to a 167-run victory in thefirst ‘Test’ at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday
Waleed Hussain12-Jan-2001Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan bowled India Under-19 to a 167-run victory in thefirst ‘Test’ at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday. He returned remarkable figures of eight for 38 in the second innings as the touristsfolded with five minutes to spare.In his last spell, the left-arm spinner bowled 18.3 overs, 15 of which were maidens, giving away six runs and picking up seven wickets from the Tata end.England Under-19 were bowled out for 183 in 98.3 overs after playing3.3 overs beyond the mandatory limit. Gary Pratt top-scored with 66.Skipper Ian Bell continued his good run with the bat scoring 48.The day very much belonged to the Indian spinners. During the firstsession, there were signs of a draw as Pratt, Nikki Peng and Bell batted withgrit and determination. The morning produced 106 runs for the loss of onewicket in 40 overs.Aftre lunch, however, the tourists lost three wickets inscoring 62 runs off 31 overs. It was the last session that spelt doom forthe tourists as they lost six wickets for just 12 runs in 26.3 overs.The tourists began the day needing 348 for victory with ten wickets inhand. Openers Pratt and Peng gave them a good start, putting on60 runs off 19.2 overs. Peng was dismissed for 28 when he edged toIshan Ganda in the slips.Pratt and Bell continued their good form, adding 100 for the second wicket off 38.2 overs. Bell was dismissed shortly after the drinks interval in the second session. A lapse in concentration cost the skipper his wicket and a well deserved half-century when he was adjudged leg before for 48. Bell departed with the score at 160. Six runs later, Pratt joined him in the dressing room, top-edging a sweep shot to leg slip.After their departure, none of the batsmen looked comfortable against the spin trio of Dharmichand, Khadkikar and Vidyuth.The tourists at one stage were cruising along at 160 for one but theyslumped sharply. They lost nine wickets for the addition of 23 runs in 40.4overs.Kadeer Ali failed to reach double figures as he was caught sweeping offVidyuth by the keeper. He struggled to counter the tweakers ofDharmichand and Sivaramakrishnan while facing 27 balls.Dharmichand foxed Ian Pattison with a flighted delivery. He fell forthe loop that Vidyuth imparted on the ball and played the ball into thehands of Vinayak Mane at silly point after scoring three.One run later, Robert Ferley edged Vidyuth to wicket-keeper AjayRatra for one. The runs began to dry up as Dharmichand and Vidyuth had the batsmen struggling with a judicious mixture of turn and flight.Wicket-keeper Mark Wallace and Kyle Hogg battled hard as they tried tosave the game. Both left-handers used their pads to paddle away mostdeliveries but the middle order simply cracked under pressure. Wallace was left stranded at one end as Vidyuth ran through the tail. Wallace remained unbeaten on five from 91 balls, figures that symbolised his struggle.The tourists never showed any signs of recovering after the two mainbatsmen departed. The spinning track at Wankhede was hard too hard tohandle for the tourists.The teams now meet in the second ‘Test’ in the three-match series in Chennai, which begins on January 20.