MiD DAY lists India's most horrific days on UK tour

MiD DAY lists the most horrible moments of India's 61-day UK journey...

21st July: In the middle of a rhythmic spell, Zaheer Khan, with figures of 2-18, went off the field midway through the third over of his third spell after MS Dhoni won the toss and inserted the hosts on the first morning of the Lord's Test.



29th July: In the absence of Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar assumed the role of the leader of the pace-attack. However, he didn't quite behave like one on the first day of the Nottingham Test.u00a0Having been turned down for an lbw appeal off Kevin Pietersen, he argued with umpire Marais Erasmus. The day also sawu00a0 Harbhajan Singh aggravate his abdominal strain.

6th August: A century from Niall O'Brien saw Northamptonshire go past India's total of 352. Zaheer Khan walked off the field after a three-over spell on the second morning. It was the last that was seen of the left-arm seamer on the tour.

10th August: A turnaround was expected from India in the Edgbaston Test. Virender Sehwag had joined the team, and Gautam Gambhir returned from injury. While Rahul Dravid received the 'ball of the series' from Tim Bresnan that straightened off a good length and crashed into his off-stump, Sehwag registered the first
of two golden ducks in the Test.

12th August: Alastair Cook added to India's woes courtesy a 294-run knock on the third day at Edgbaston that eventually helped England win the series 3-0.

19th August: As Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen piled on the runs, Gautam Gambhir suffered a horrific injury on Day 2 of the Oval Test. While back-pedalling from mid-on, in an attempt to catch a Pietersen top edge, he slammed the back of his head on the ground, and didn't open the batting in either innings. He never recovered from the concussions.

20th August: The horror at the Oval Test continued. Suresh Raina had already flushed his reputation of an emerging Test batsman down the drain. Having been exposed to the bouncing ball, Raina was now teased by the spin of Graeme Swann. When stumped by Matt Prior after being beaten by a ripper, he equalled Irfan Pathan's record of the longest duck in Indian Test history -- 29 balls without a run.

22nd August: It was only personal dismay but that's the influence of Sachin Tendulkar. Just nine runs shy of his century of international centuries, Tendulkar was trapped lbw by Tim Bresnan. The aftermath: India lost their last seven wickets for 21 runs to lose a Test that could have been saved.u00a0

5th september: Sachin Tendulkar was officially ruled out of the ODIs because of a toe injury that he aggravated while going for a jog on the eve of the first one-dayer at Chester-le-Street.

11th September: Just when India were closing in on their maiden win, recurring showers, mathematics, and Ravi Bopara had other ideas. The first rain stoppage saw India marginally ahead of the D/L par score. The second stoppage shifted the balance to England.