They had the advantage...

Rahul Bhattacharya

England were due some luck today, but India shouldn't have taken it upon themselves to provide it. Four dropped catches, as well as some very effective batting from Craig White, meant that they surrendered much of the advantage they held at 180 for 5.

Sourav Ganguly led from the front - he made the first mistake and the rest followed. Anil Kumble was brought on first thing in the morning from the end where he had taken none of his five wickets yesterday, and was given a four-over burst before the new ball was taken in a huff. Ganguly might never have done so had Dasgupta not missed a difficult catch and stumping, of Craig White off Harbhajan Singh, all in the same motion.

Dasgupta is a staunch batsman who spreads his roots deep, and at the moment, almost looks the better opener because he plays along the ground and hardly ever gets flustered. But it's heartbreakingly true, when it comes to keeping wickets, the lad is bad. He deflects rather than collects. The ball hits him, somewhere, anywhere, or sometimes misses all of him. The symptoms were there right from his first match but he wasn't dropping catches, so it didn't matter.

Now, with Srinath puffing in purposefully after being hit around by Jamie Foster, he dropped a sitter that cost India nearly a hundred runs. When Kumble bowled Ashley Giles through the gate - from his favourite Adani end - and the ball proceeded to bruise Dasgupta on his face, it was cruel, poetic justice. When he did hold on to one, an over after he had let another chance go by down the legside, Javagal Srinath made the uncharacteristic gesture of blowing a kiss to the crowd. He was rewarded with a rousing response befitting a man who had bowled his heart out on a heartless pitch under a heartless sun.

Don't get the wrong impression. Dasgupta wasn't the only Indian dropper today. Kumble put down White at deep square in the same over Dasgupta had, and Mark Ramprakash, whose grandfather was from Uttar Pradesh and whose wife is Gujarati, let off Das at silly-point. But when Srinath (yes, him again) had White (yes, him again) block one defensively, the ball rolled back meekly and tickled the stumps and the bails remained intact. Where is a drop when you need one?

India have lots to do tomorrow. They must make sure they don't waste a pitch as good as this. They have at the crease their most adhesive batsman, Rahul Dravid, and their best one, Sachin Tendulkar. Both got an eighty at Mohali but they will have to be hungrier tomorrow if they are to set up a victory.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India.

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