Test cricket: Game swings as Dravid dominates then Broad bites

There is nothing finer in Test cricket than two evenly matched sides fighting tooth and claw for supremacy. India for the best part of two days had banished the memory of the trouncing at Lord's and had earned a small lead with five wickets remaining. It was the fightback of a champion side led by their most indefatigable and defiant batsman, Rahul Dravid, who scored his 34th Test century and warned England that the No.1 side in the world would not give up their ranking without a fight.

Luckily for England and the spectators, scrapping is what this England side excel at and in a remarkable spell with the new ball England took the final five wickets for only 15 runs in 24 deliveries. Instead of a match-winning position with a lead over 150, India finished with an advantage of 67 - which was soon reduced to 43, albeit for the loss of Alastair Cook - and plenty of doubts in their minds.

It was astonishing and who else could deliver such a devastating performance than the resurgent Stuart Broad. Back at his home ground he had already impressed with a counter-attacking innings on Friday but in his 23rd over he ignited the final session with a hat-trick, the 39th in Test match history.

MS Dhoni went first, well caught by James Anderson at second slip; Harbhajan Singh was next unluckily LBW as he had edged the ball clearly before it hit the pad; and then Praveen Kumar was clean bowled. Oh for the DRS review system that would have saved Harbhajan. India refused its use in the series primarily because some of their senior batsmen do not like it. That is looking a more crass decision with every passing day and the ICC should not relent in pushing its use universally around the world. The batsmen, protected enough as they are by the laws, will just have to get used to it.

Broad will not care as he has returned to form splendidly and is doing what the very best have to do, proving themselves in the toughest series against the best opponents.

The enforcer of the early summer has given way to a more thoughtful bowler, still quick but one keener to pitch the ball up and allow it to swing.

He was magnificent from the start and thoroughly deserved his best figures of 6-46.

His performances have also demonstrated the importance of his return to county cricket during the one-day series against Sri Lanka. He had been poor but a first-class game for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge helped him adjust his length to pitch the ball fuller and since then he has been transformed.

He now has 13 wickets in the series and has also suffered some dropped catches. If he continues like this he could replicate Andrew Flintoff's Ashes heroics in 2005.And England certainly needed him, as the recalled Yuvraj Singh was partnering Dravid and batting the match beyond the hosts. He is a skittish personality in Test cricket because bowlers can bowl short at him but once he had enjoyed the good fortune of Kevin Pietersen dropping him in the gully off his fifth ball he batted neatly.

It was curious though that Andrew Strauss, mindful of the new ball being due later, protected his seam bowlers and offered up Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen. Yuvraj smashes spinners and he happily collected boundaries off the tweakers. Swann was poor and bowled too short but what England needed to do was press Yuvraj hard even though the ball was old.

His innings could still prove crucial as England have problems of their own with Jonathan Trott injured with his arm in a sling supporting his shoulder. Having collected the ball when fielding he rolled over and immediately winced and lay prone on the turf clutching his neck.

Depending on how uncomfortable he is he may struggle to bat, or if he does to bat effectively, which puts more pressure on the England top order to first erase the deficit and then build a substantial total.

Actually what England need is their own Dravid. He opened the batting on Friday evening, watched each swinging delivery as closely as a snake does prey wandering into its range and gave a master class to all in how to play the ball late and negate swing.

He truly is a wonderful batsman and not just in stroke play but in strategy. Full outswingers were glided with the bat face opening to cushion the ball with the hands past point or down to third man, straight balls were defended off either foot with the broadest of blades and any that ambled towards the pads were neatly dispatched for runs. There was plenty of class and flair on show but it was understated and based on effect, not showmanship.

His attack on Swann was superb in its calculation and execution. Early in the off-spinner's spell Dravid launched him high over mid-on. Keen to protect boundaries, Strauss immediately dropped the fielder to the boundary and Dravid then clinically pushed singles to the outrider, ensuring the scoreboard kept ticking over and giving the more aggressive Yuvraj the strike.

His effort and concentration over 89 overs deserved to put India in a dominant position. It took something special to make sure it did not.