The pitch had a hand to play, but India's bowling display was heartening for an attack which had been written off after the first two Tests. Both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh at last got a game together, and on a track which might have been lifted straight from Kanpur, they wrecked havoc. Harbhajan finished with three wickets, but Kumble was India's best bowler of the day and could so easily have finished with a five-for. England's openers had got off to a fluent start when Kumble came into the attack, and he immediately asked questions of the batsmen. Michael Vaughan was extremely fortunate to survive a plumb lbw shout, while Nasser Hussain edged him twice between wicketkeeper and slip. The pitch was perfect for him, and Kumble revelled in these conditions.

The Indian seamers turned in a much-improved performance too. Both Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan knuckled down after a loose start with the new-ball, keeping excellent control on their length and giving the batsmen very few hit-me balls.

What wasn't quite so perfect was India's performance in the outfield. Questions had been asked of the Indian bowlers' capability to take 20 wickets in the match, but the shoddy catching and a couple of dubious umpiring decisions meant that the bowlers were forced to conjure up 20 wickets in a single innings. Hussain and Vaughan didn't profit much from their let-offs – Vaughan got out the very next ball – but Stewart has already made the Indians pay for dropping him first ball. Sanjay Bangar's lapse meant he was immediately banished from the slip cordon in favour of Virender Sehwag – who justified the move by catching Alex Tudor at the position – but it begged the question of why a specialist fielding position had been swapped around so casually.

If the fielding left plenty of room for improvement, then Parthiv Patel's wicketkeeping was almost flawless. It was the first time he was standing behind the stumps to Kumble, and the way he gathered deliveries down the leg side and adjusted to the variable bounce on the pitch was reminiscent of Nayan Mongia. India have clearly found the man for the job.

For the moment though, they need to concentrate on finishing off the job which they have begun so well.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd