When SS Das hit 250 against Essex, it looked as if India had solved their opening problem. But Sourav Ganguly needed another seamer, so Sanjay Bangar got the place - and made the most of it. He hit 68, and put on 170 for the second wicket with Rahul Dravid, a new record for India in England, beating the 168 of Farokh Engineer and Ajit Wadekar at Headingley in 1968. It was functional rather than flowery, although one of his ten fours was eased through the covers in a way Colin Cowdrey would have loved. Of Bangar's 68 runs, 52 (76.5%) came behind or square of the wicket. It was deflections and dinks rather than decisive drives: there wasn't much down the ground (only 11 runs), and no runs at all into the midwicket area.

Of Bangar's 236 balls, 22 were very short, and 73 more were short of a length - 34 of them from Alex Tudor, whose total of 74 balls to Bangar included 67 dot-balls. Of Bangar's fours, three came off Caddick, two off Giles, Hoggard and Tudor, and one off Flintoff.

It might not have been pretty but it was a vital innings for India, good get-into-line, nose-over-the-ball defensive stuff, and it should have set them up for a big total tomorrow.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.

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