Kevin Pietersen answered his critics with an emphatic double century as England piled the pressure on India at Lord's on day two of the First Test. The tourists must now rely on their batting maestros to claw away from danger.
Resuming on 127-2, England suffered the early loss of Jonathan Trott, lbw to Praveen Kumar, but then took the game by the scruff of the neck as Pietersen forged timely partnerships with first Ian Bell (45) then Matt Prior (71). England cruised past 450 before declaring on 474-8 once Pietersen had passed 200. He finished unbeaten on 202.
With Zaheer Khan injured, the Indian attack laboured. Kumar's persistence was rewarded with a five-wicket haul but Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh combined for miserable figures of 0-280.
The Indian openers survived six overs before the close, reaching 17-0, but the big test will come tomorrow as England's pace trio and the spin threat of Graeme Swann put the top order through their paces. A decisive day three is on the cards.
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