Close India 236 for 2 (Dravid 110*, Tendulkar 18*)
Scorecard

So far this summer, India have batted rather as Monty Brewster spent his millions - hurriedly, in the expectation of much, much more. But, at the fifth time of asking, they finally remembered that a bit of penny-pinching can, on occasions, be just as rewarding. And, in Rahul Dravid, who grafted his way to his 12th Test century, they had the perfect man for the job.

Together with Sanjay Bangar, a surprise inclusion at the top of the order, Dravid added 170 for the second wicket - a record for India at Headingley, beating the 168 by Farokh Engineer and Ajit Wadekar in 1967. India reached 236 for 2 at stumps, with Dravid 110 not out, having faced 247 balls with 16 fours.

It wasn't exactly what the cash-strapped Headingley authorities, battling desperately to save their Test status, would have hoped for. But, with Sachin Tendulkar unbeaten on 18 at the close, India were well positioned to put England under pressure for the first time in the series. Their off-the-field problems this week had threatened to overshadow the importance of the task at hand, but instead it appeared to galvanise their spirit - if not their scoring rate.

India made three brave decisions prior to the start this morning. Bangar's inclusion - at the expense of Shiv Sunder Das, whose 250 against Essex last week was in vain - allowed both Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble to play, despite Headingley's reputation as a seamer's paradise. And, on a green-tinged pitch, and under a typically leaden Leeds sky, Sourav Ganguly even won the toss and chose to bat.

It was Bangar's seam bowling that clinched his place, but his invaluable contribution of 68 from 236 balls more than justified the hunch. He endured a tricky time against Matthew Hoggard early on, but his technique proved tidier than that of Wasim Jaffer, who was extremely fallible on the front foot in the previous two matches. Dravid, though, was his usual rock-like self, and other than the odd streaky edge, their only real scares came courtesy of Michael Vaughan, whose shies from the covers almost accounted for Dravid in the first session - the ball appeared to clip the stumps without disturbing the bails - and Bangar five minutes before tea.

After an initial burst, in which Virender Sehwag was caught at slip for 8 off an airy drive at Matthew Hoggard (15 for 1), England failed to make the most of the conditions. Alex Tudor, back at the expense of Steve Harmison, hurried the batsmen on occasions, and Andy Caddick generated some good pace and bounce on his return to the side. Flintoff was limited to just seven overs in the first two sessions, suggesting that Hussain is very wary of overusing him and his hernia in this Test. None of the bowlers could be offended by their figures, but the lack of wickets was a cause for concern.

It was Flintoff, though, who finally made the breakthrough. Finding some extra bounce, he strangled Bangar down the leg side, and almost immediately squared Tendulkar up from around the wicket - the ball squirting off a thick edge for four down to third man. Flintoff had earlier reprieved Bangar on 53, dropping a regulation chance at slip. By this stage, however, Dravid was really beginning to hit the straps. Some of his cover-driving, particularly against the swinging delivery, was sublime, and he reached his century with a tuck for four off his hips against Hoggard. Dravid has now batted for more than 1000 minutes in this series, twice as long as his nearest rival, Michael Vaughan.

Though the early cloud cover gave way to specks of blue sky, there is still plenty left in the pitch for England to make some inroads in the morning session. Hoggard impressed all day with some pronounced outswing, but Caddick mixed jaffas with leg-side gimmes, as he strained to find that extra movement off the seam. Tendulkar, though, was starting to find his range by the close, and after missing out on his century at Trent Bridge, he will be itching to make amends and carry India into an unbeatable position. England 1 Michael Vaughan, 2 Robert Key, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain (capt), 5 John Crawley, 6 Alec Stewart (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Alex Tudor, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Andy Caddick, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

India 1 Sanjay Bangar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Parthiv Patel (wk), 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Zaheer Khan.

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