Gaji
England 457 for 3 (Bell 181*, Pietersen 175) v India
Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen piled up twin hundreds in a record triple-century stand as England show India no compassion on day two of the fourth npower Test at The Oval.
England's third-wicket pair conquered India's vulnerable attack in a partnership of 350 as a kind surface and sunny skies made life ever more at ease for the hosts, and desperate for their opponents.
Shantha Sreesanth did his best to make a delusion of competitiveness, with a series of vain attempt to engage Pietersen verbally.
But after the early loss of both Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook for the addition of only two runs between them, there was hardly ever even an approximation of a true challenge between bat and ball in a total of 457 for three, with Bell and Pietersen redistribution England's record stand for any wicket against India.
After an alert start, Bell (181no) and Pietersen (175) duly made the most of easy pickings on their way in that order to and well beyond their 16th and 19th Test centuries.
Bell's was his first on this ground, but fifth in 11 innings of a creative 2011 to date.
Pietersen now has four Test hundreds here, and has moved level with Strauss and Cook's career tallies - to stand joint-third on England's all-time list.
He and Bell were prudent in the hour before lunch, adding 29 after Strauss was second out. But the first 10 overs of the afternoon prove particularly punishing for India as 59 runs were plundered.
Pietersen announce himself first with boundaries off leg-spinner Amit Mishra - and then Bell struck a quarter of fours in five balls off Sreesanth.
After the first, a fierce pull follow next ball, then there were two wonderful cover drives on the up in Sreesanth's next over.
Bell also count several of the 12 fours in his 181-ball hundred from what has become one of his brand shots - the back or late-cut off speed to the habitually careless third-man boundary.
Pietersen, by difference, typically used his single reach and footwork to disturb India's lines - whipping to leg or smearing off-side width among his 27 fours in a 232-ball innings.
He completed his hundred with a loud pull from the first ball after tea from Ishant Sharma - only to offer his only possibility off the very next delivery when he miscued an intended repeat high to mid-on.
But in its place of easing India's pain, Gautam Gambhir unfortunately inflict some more on him when he failed to hold an ill at ease skier and fell backwards on to his head and shoulders.
Pietersen and Bell had bag 170 unbeaten runs from 38 overs in a comprehensive second session as they took England's number of century partnerships in the series to nine.
In the attendance of Primer Minister David Cameron England therefore moved ominously back on course for a match-controlling total, in pursuit of a 4-0 series whitewash to merge their new-found world number one Test status.
That ambition had hit a near urgent setback this morning.
Cook swish his bat in aggravation after following some away swing from Sharma and edging the fifth ball of the day to second slip.
It was an particularly infuriating turn of events for a batsman renowned for his powers of concentration and so fixed during his career-best 294 at Edgbaston just last week.
But had he known what was to come, he need not have been so hard on himself.
The same could be said for Strauss, who took an hour and 32 balls to add just two runs to his overnight 38 before departing after some full-length width from Sreesanth and edging tamely behind.
If India hope were rising, it was just a unkind passing phase.
Bell took 10 balls to get off the mark, and Pietersen had one close call on 18 when a glance at Sharma fell just short of leg-slip from the final ball of the morning.
But other than Gambhir's early-evening mis-calculation, that was as close as they would ever get to interrupt the predictable in a stand which surpass Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb's England best for any wicket against India when it went past 308.
The tourists had just one 'centurion' of their own - thanks to Mishra's bowling figures, which had just yielded the first sixes of the innings to Bell, when Pietersen lastly went caught and bowled to Suresh Raina's off-spin at the other end.
Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen piled up twin hundreds in a record triple-century stand as England show India no compassion on day two of the fourth npower Test at The Oval.
England's third-wicket pair conquered India's vulnerable attack in a partnership of 350 as a kind surface and sunny skies made life ever more at ease for the hosts, and desperate for their opponents.
Shantha Sreesanth did his best to make a delusion of competitiveness, with a series of vain attempt to engage Pietersen verbally.
But after the early loss of both Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook for the addition of only two runs between them, there was hardly ever even an approximation of a true challenge between bat and ball in a total of 457 for three, with Bell and Pietersen redistribution England's record stand for any wicket against India.
After an alert start, Bell (181no) and Pietersen (175) duly made the most of easy pickings on their way in that order to and well beyond their 16th and 19th Test centuries.
Bell's was his first on this ground, but fifth in 11 innings of a creative 2011 to date.
Pietersen now has four Test hundreds here, and has moved level with Strauss and Cook's career tallies - to stand joint-third on England's all-time list.
He and Bell were prudent in the hour before lunch, adding 29 after Strauss was second out. But the first 10 overs of the afternoon prove particularly punishing for India as 59 runs were plundered.
Pietersen announce himself first with boundaries off leg-spinner Amit Mishra - and then Bell struck a quarter of fours in five balls off Sreesanth.
After the first, a fierce pull follow next ball, then there were two wonderful cover drives on the up in Sreesanth's next over.
Bell also count several of the 12 fours in his 181-ball hundred from what has become one of his brand shots - the back or late-cut off speed to the habitually careless third-man boundary.
Pietersen, by difference, typically used his single reach and footwork to disturb India's lines - whipping to leg or smearing off-side width among his 27 fours in a 232-ball innings.
He completed his hundred with a loud pull from the first ball after tea from Ishant Sharma - only to offer his only possibility off the very next delivery when he miscued an intended repeat high to mid-on.
But in its place of easing India's pain, Gautam Gambhir unfortunately inflict some more on him when he failed to hold an ill at ease skier and fell backwards on to his head and shoulders.
Pietersen and Bell had bag 170 unbeaten runs from 38 overs in a comprehensive second session as they took England's number of century partnerships in the series to nine.
In the attendance of Primer Minister David Cameron England therefore moved ominously back on course for a match-controlling total, in pursuit of a 4-0 series whitewash to merge their new-found world number one Test status.
That ambition had hit a near urgent setback this morning.
Cook swish his bat in aggravation after following some away swing from Sharma and edging the fifth ball of the day to second slip.
It was an particularly infuriating turn of events for a batsman renowned for his powers of concentration and so fixed during his career-best 294 at Edgbaston just last week.
But had he known what was to come, he need not have been so hard on himself.
The same could be said for Strauss, who took an hour and 32 balls to add just two runs to his overnight 38 before departing after some full-length width from Sreesanth and edging tamely behind.
If India hope were rising, it was just a unkind passing phase.
Bell took 10 balls to get off the mark, and Pietersen had one close call on 18 when a glance at Sharma fell just short of leg-slip from the final ball of the morning.
But other than Gambhir's early-evening mis-calculation, that was as close as they would ever get to interrupt the predictable in a stand which surpass Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb's England best for any wicket against India when it went past 308.
The tourists had just one 'centurion' of their own - thanks to Mishra's bowling figures, which had just yielded the first sixes of the innings to Bell, when Pietersen lastly went caught and bowled to Suresh Raina's off-spin at the other end.
