Close India 210 for 4 (Sehwag 106, Tendulkar 34, Hoggard 2 for 54)
Scorecard

After swaying to and fro throughout the day, the scales finally stood evenly at the close of play at Trent Bridge, with India on 210 for 4. The high points of the day were Virender Sehwag's second Test century and Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal. In the latest instalment of a continuing battle which might well enter cricketing folklore, Nasser Hussain outwitted Tendulkar – again.

The key point in the day came about half-an-hour after lunch, with Sehwag and Tendulkar batting in sedate and untroubled manner. Hussain brought Craig White into the attack and put his off-theory into practice. The off-side field was packed, the leg-side field was largely deserted, and White's instructions were to bowl well outside off, in an attempt to frustrate Tendulkar into a fatal indiscretion.

Tendulkar played out White's first over patiently, but gave him a lashing in his second, which went for 15. In the next over, Dominic Cork came on to bowl with an identical field and Tendulkar, trying to pull a short delivery from well outside off into the vacant on side, only managed to bottom-edge onto his stumps (108 for 3). He made just 34, a failure by his standards. Hussain had won again; the master had been mastered.

But though the centre did not hold, the edifice stayed upright, largely thanks to Sehwag's century. There was an interesting, and disturbing, duality in Sehwag's play. He was suitably circumspect in the first hour of play, and his driving on the up was delectable. He took the attack to the bowlers, and was just the breath of fresh air that India needs at the top of the order.

But the flip side was that he could have been out a dozen times before he eventually lost his wicket. He played numerous uppish drives and slashes through point with minimal footwork, as well as a couple of awful slogs. Sehwag deserved his century, but excessive counter-attack can prove counter-productive for India, especially for an opening batsman. His rushes of blood will cause a few problems for India in the future.

VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly saw India through till bad light stopped play with 24 overs still to go in the day. Ganguly was gritty, and despite an early examination from Steve Harmison – one snorter was fended off through the vacant third-slip area – he gutsed it out and played some lovely strokes as the innings went on.

Laxman played and missed a couple of times, but otherwise looked assured, opening his account by stroking Hoggard languidly through cover for four. He looked in the same rich vein of form as he was in the last Test, and will be hoping he does not have only the tail for company this time around.

Among that tail will be the youngest wicketkeeper in Test history. Ajay Ratra was injured in the nets, which pitchforked Parthiv Patel, all of 17 years and 150 days, into the team. Harbhajan Singh was the other change, with a calf injury keeping Anil Kumble out.

England, meanwhile, in addition to new caps Robert Key and Harmison, also brought Cork into the side in place of Ashley Giles. That meant they went into the match with no fewer than five seamers - the rationale was that Andy Flintoff had a slight injury, and wouldn;t be able to bowl much.

That made Ganguly's decision to bat first on an overcast morning even more courageous. Hussain had said that it was a good toss to lose, and Hoggard seemed to vindicate that belief, with a fine spell of 2 for 17 in 10 overs in the morning. The outswing he generated was prodigious, and Wasim Jaffer was an early victim. With Jaffer's bat well away from his body, the ball took a thin inside-edge and crashed into the stumps (6 for 1).

Rahul Dravid looked his usual solid self, but Hussain's decision to give Hoggard an extended spell paid off, as Dravid finally fell in Hoggard's ninth over, flashing outside off to a delivery that pitched on a good length and swerved away by just the right amount. Key hung on to the resultant catch at first slip, and Dravid was gone for just 13 (34 for 2).

That set the stage for the continuing drama of Hussain v Tendulkar. For further instalments, watch this space.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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