England level Test with 10-wicket win – but India still favourites
Published:England’s emphatic 10-wicket victory in the second Test against India has seen them installed at 11/4 to win the third Test.
The tourists were in devastating form with the bat, with Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen racking up 122 and 186 respectively in the first innings to build a lead of 86.
It was the ruthless bowling of the England spinners that nailed the Indians though, with Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann exceptional with the ball.
Panesar took six wickets for just 81 runs in the Indians’ second innings to help see them all out for 142 and a combined 469 – a total England easily passed without even losing a wicket in their second spell at the crease.
It hasn’t been enough to see England made favourites for the third Test though, with the Indians still in at 6/5 to head into the fourth with a 2-1 lead.
It’s a hugely encouraging result for England following a difficult couple of months in which a combination of poor form and poor decisions off the field contributed to England losing their place as the number one ranked Test team in the world.
With Pietersen back and in-form (he rated his display as the best knock of his career), Swann back to his best and Steve Finn and Ian Bell available for the third Test, things are looking better than they have done in a while for England’s test team.
It surely won’t be as easy in the next test though and that belief is backed up by the pretty hefty odds of 7/2 offered for England to win the overall series – something that would be up there with anything they have achieved in their recent history if they were to do it.
