MUMBAI — Skipper Alastair Cook continued to torment India with yet another gritty batting display while Kevin Pietersen returned to form with an unbeaten half-century to give England a slight advantage in the second cricket Test in Mumbai Saturday. After dismissing India for 327 in the first innings, England moved to a comfortable 178 for two in 65 overs before the stumps were drawn on the second day, with the visitors trailing by 149 runs. At close, the left-handed Cook, who scored a big century in the first Test, was unbeaten on 87. The more aggressive Pietersen was batting on 62 after a stay of 127 minutes during which he faced 85 balls and hit nine fours. Cook batted for 251 minutes and faced 209 balls, striking a six and ten fours in the process The third-wicket duo has so far put on 110 runs in 186 balls. For the record, Cook has batted for 960 minutes in all in the three innings he has batted during the series. With three more days left in the second game of the four-match series in which India is 1-0 ahead, a result is on the cards on a track that is aiding the spin bowlers. England, though, looked to have a slight advantage with a settled and experienced pair at the wicket and some more batting to follow. On a wicket where the spin duo of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann ran through the star-studded Indian batting lineup in which Cheteshwar Pujara (135) and Ravichandra Ashwin (68) stood out, the trio of home team spinners looked largely clueless against the determined Cook and Pietersen. Barring the twin strike by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the space of 11 balls just before tea, the home side's spin attack looked far less menacing than both Panesar (five for 129) and Swann, who ran through the tail Saturday to end up with figures of four for 70. Cook again showed monumental patience to lead his side's reply. Anything bowled at the stumps was blocked, balls outside the off were cut, while the ones outside the leg were swept. He gathered his runs mostly in singles to frustrate the Indian spinners, just like he had done for nearly 12 hours in Ahmedabad. With a sweep shot before tea, Cook surpassed Pujara as the highest run-getter in the series. The shot, incidentally, hit Pujara on the right side of his rib cage, forcing him to leave the field and seek medical attention. He did not come out to field after tea. Substitute fielder Ajinkya Rahane, too, had to duck at times to avoid getting hit by the England captain's sweeps. He eventually received a painful blow on his left elbow by Pietersen's powerful sweep off Harbhajan Singh. Pietersen, who looked in a hurry in the opening game, adopted a slightly different approach. He dispatch Harbhajan with lofted shots but played cautiously against Ojha, who had dismissed him twice in the first game. The batsman was also careful against Ashwin. Pietersen, however, survived a confident appeal for a catch off Ashwin when he was on 45 in a team score of 146 for two. Umpire Aleem Dar, who gave a wrong decision to send back Zaheer Khan in the morning by declaring him caught in the leg trap, did not agree to the Indians' vociferous appeal against Pietersen when the ball ballooned to backward short-leg fielder Virat Kohli. Pietersen soon raced to his half-century with a back foot cut off Ashwin in 63 balls. — Agencies
