England edge closer to first Test win

Cricket: Ryan Sidebottom struck an early blow in England's bid for a first Test win over India in at Lord's.

Cricket:Ryan Sidebottom struck an early blow in England's bid for a first Test win over India in at Lord's.

The left-arm seamer removed Sourav Ganguly in the fourth over of the morning to provide a fine start in what is also a race against the rain clouds.

England began the day requiring seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the series, while India, resuming on 137 for three, required 243 more for an unlikely win.

With wet weather scheduled to return to the capital today, however, time was of the essence and Sidebottom boosted the bid when a delivery angled in to left-hander Ganguly and struck pad in front of off-stump.

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India were being anchored by young opener Dinesh Karthik, who was joined by experienced campaigner VVS Laxman on 143 for four.