Matt Prior sees "no demons" in the pitch as England fight to save first Test against India

Matt Prior says the performance of England's openers in the evening session on day three has given the tourists' confidence that they can save the first Test against India.

Weakness

Left-arm spinner Ojha bowled Kevin Pietersen and had Ian Bell caught at mid-off with successive deliveries in the morning session. Of Pietersen, Ojha said: "He has a weakness against left-arm spin. But I won't be taking him easy in this series, because he's a very good batsman." As for Bell, he added: "I think when you're playing a five-day Test, and a batsman comes at you like that the very first delivery, it's a very encouraging thing as a spinner." Prior defended Bell's shot selection and expects him to come good in the second innings. "Belly is one of the finest batters at hitting over the top that I know, and the one thing we talk about is playing your own game and backing yourself," said Prior. "Only Belly will know the plan he had ... and it didn't come off. "These are the fine lines in sport. It doesn't come off, and it doesn't look great admittedly. "But you cannot question the quality and class of a batsman like Ian Bell. We all know, and hope he's going to show it. "There's no point sulking. He knows he probably got it slightly wrong. But we've got a big second innings coming up, and I'm sure he'll be as motivated as any of our batters to get a big score."