Nottingham, July 31: Ian Bell’s brilliant 159 was the highlight of the third day of the second Test match at Trent Bridge. But MS Dhoni enjoyed a fair share of the spotlight, choosing to uphold the spirit of the game by withdrawing an appeal which would have brought Bell’s innings to a bizarre end before tea. At the end of Day 3, England were leading by 374 runs with Matt Prior not out on 64 and Tim Bresnan batting on 47.

The last ball of the second session brought drama to an otherwise uneventful session. After Eoin Morgan flicked the ball to deep square-leg, it appeared to have touched the ropes. The fielder Praveen Kumar and both the batsmen – Morgan and Bell –assumed it was a four and by the time the throw came in from the deep to wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, both batsmen were out of their crease. The ball was collected, the bails dislodged and an appeal made by the Indian skipper. Since the umpires had still officially not called tea, Bell, who had taken three runs and was back at the non-striker’s end with Morgan, was given out.

As the Indian team walked to the pavilion and back after tea, the crowd at Trent Bridge booed the visitors. But the Indian skipper had reversed the decision during the tea break in deference to the game’s spirit. The spectators across the ground were unaware of the change in events and were taken by surprise as Bell and Morgan followed the Indian squad out.

Had Dhoni not reversed the decision, India would have had the breakthrough that they were seeking throughout the day and within the legal parameters of the game.

Back in the middle, runs came freely for the hosts as Morgan reached his half-century soon after Bell crossed the 150 mark.

With a superbly crafted innings, Bell took the initiative back from India. Trailing by 43 runs at the start of the day, England took a lead in the 24th over of their innings. Promoted to bat at No. 3 in place of Jonathon Trott who had injured his shoulder in the field earlier yesterday, Bell anchored the England innings. A sweet timer of the ball, Bell scored his first century at No. 3 in his 34th outing in that position.

His momentous effort ended in a soft dismissal as he edged Yuvraj Singh to VVS Laxman in the slips. But by then, with two significant partnerships, with Pietersen and Morgan respectively, he ensured that England were firmly in the driver’s seat.

For the better part of the day, the right-left combination of Bell and Pietersen milked the Indian bowlers. With Pietersen at the crease, Yuvraj Singh was brought into the attack. A good move, given that the southpaw has been out to left-arm spinners on 20 previous occasions. But Pietersen punched the first ball he faced off Yuvraj for a four. The Indian pacers, however, relentlessly pursued wickets. A bouncer from Ishant Sharmat hit Pietersen in the ribs. Pietersen, who had replaced the England captain, contributed 63 runs and was the only England wicket to fall in the second session off S Sreesanth.

Armed with the second new ball, Praveen Kumar claimed the wicket of Morgan who edged an outswinger to the keeper. On the next ball, the new man in, Trott survived a plumb lbw appeal. But in his next over Kumar got the better of Trott and sent back the batsman for two runs.

Coming together at 339 runs for the loss of six wickets, Matt Prior and Tim Bresnan continued to extend England’s lead smashing the Indian bowlers all over the park. The 91st, 92nd and 93rd over from Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth yielded 11, 12 and 15 runs respectively which prompted Dhoni to bring back Praveen Kumar and Yuvraj Singh. In an unbeaten partnership, the duo added 102 runs to the England total.

Earlier, after about 45 minutes into the day, Sreesanth gave India their first breakthrough of the day dismissing the England skipper Andrew Strauss. After a 51-run stand with Bell, Strauss was back in the dressing room with England still 10 runs behind India. In the first session, England scored 106 runs in 27 overs with the loss of just one wicket and were leading by 63 runs.

Brief Score (At the end of Day 3): England 1st innings 221 all out in 68.4 overs (Stuart Broad 64, A Strauss 32, P Kumar 3/45, I Sharma 3/66, S Sreesanth 3/77), India 1st innings 288 all out in 91.1 overs (Rahul Dravid 117, Yuvraj Singh 62, VVS Laxman 54, Stuart Broad 6/46); England 2nd Innings 441/6 in 101 overs ( Ian Bell 159, Eoin Morgan 70, Kevin Pietersen 63, Matt Prior 64, Tim Bresnan 47).