Vidyuth bowls Indian Colts to victory in first 'Test'

Waleed Hussain

January 12, 2001

Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan bowled India Under-19 to a 167-run victory in the first 'Test' at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday. He returned remarkable figures of eight for 38 in the second innings as the tourists folded 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 playing 3.3 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 first session, there were signs of a draw as Pratt, Nikki Peng and Bell batted with grit and determination. The morning produced 106 runs for the loss of one wicket in 40 overs.

Aftre lunch, however, the tourists lost three wickets in scoring 62 runs off 31 overs. It was the last session that spelt doom for the 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 in hand. Openers Pratt and Peng gave them a good start, putting on 60 runs off 19.2 overs. Peng was dismissed for 28 when he edged to Ishan 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 they slumped sharply. They lost nine wickets for the addition of 23 runs in 40.4 overs.

Kadeer Ali failed to reach double figures as he was caught sweeping off Vidyuth by the keeper. He struggled to counter the tweakers of Dharmichand and Sivaramakrishnan while facing 27 balls.

Dharmichand foxed Ian Pattison with a flighted delivery. He fell for the loop that Vidyuth imparted on the ball and played the ball into the hands of Vinayak Mane at silly point after scoring three.

One run later, Robert Ferley edged Vidyuth to wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra 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 to save the game. Both left-handers used their pads to paddle away most deliveries 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 main batsmen departed. The spinning track at Wankhede was hard too hard to handle for the tourists.

The teams now meet in the second 'Test' in the three-match series in Chennai, which begins on January 20.

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Players/Umpires

Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan

Teams

India

Madras

Tamil Nadu