Trent Bridge (England): It was like a child artiste stealing the show in a Bollywood movie starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Sharukh Khan at their best. The big three of Indian batting - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly - all performed brilliantly to enable India to hold England to an honourable draw in the second Test on Tuesday. Between them they made 306 runs. But in the dying moments of the Test, it was a baby- faced, diminutive Indian who stole the show and the hearts of a big crowd and the hard-boiled English players. Parthiv Patel looks shorter than his 5.3 inches and even younger than his 17 years. In fact, England captain Nasser Hussain thinks he is only 12. Yet for 82 minutes, he defied everything that England's five fast bowlers threw at him to deny the whole team even an outside chance to snatch a thrilling victory. The debutant wicket-keeper made 19 unbeaten runs but from the praise he received from the captains of both teams, it would appear as if he had made 119 on his debut. Standing behind the Gujarati lad as he battled on was the England wicket-keeper Alec Stewart the veteran on the verge of his 40th birthday and old enough to be his father. In a game blotted in modern times by sledging, it was heartening to see not only Stewart pat Patel on the back and say plenty of encouraging words but also all the England players led by Hussain clap him as he walked back into the pavilion with the match drawn. Patel, the youngest ever wicket-keeper in Test history, showed that he could indeed play with the big boys. "He (Patel) showed a lot of character in difficult time. When Harbhajan was out, I really thought we could lose the game", Ganguly said about the youngster. "He fought on well and has done well for India in what is his only first Test," he said. Ganguly said when the youngster walked past him on to the ground after he was out for 99 and returning to the pavilion, his only advice to Patel was to do his best. "He looks good with his batting and technique against fast bowlers. I hope he gets better and better in every game." England skipper Nasser hussain said, "He not only played well but behaved impeccably as a person and showed no nerves. He just got on with his game and has been very impressive. "I thought it was great for world cricket today with our young fast bowler Harmison running in to bowl at this lad. It is great for world cricket when you see these youngsters coming on though it may make us feel a little bit old," commented Hussain. "It is especially great for Indian cricket and there must be people out there in India watching this, kids and all, who would get inspired. I hope India sticks with him, whether it is for this series or for the future," he remarked. Patel himself said he was pretty nervous to start with in the initial moments of the Test but felt encouraged after the way he kept wickets in England's first innings. "It gave me a lot of confidence and the team too made me believe in my ability," the youngster said. Extras:
Harbhajan to play for Lancs county next season
Eng faces more injury problems ahead of 3rd Test

Tags: cricket, trent bridge, england, bollywood, amitabh bachchan, dilip kumar, sharukh khan, sachin tendulkar, rahul dravid, saurav ganguly, indian, english players, parthiv patel, england captain nasser hussain, gujarati, england wicket-keeper alec stewart, harmison, indian cricketspecials, specials_news, specials_2002.