Close England 184 for 3 (Vaughan 81*, Crawley 56*) and 487 lead India 221 all out (Sehwag 84, Hoggard 3-33) by 450 runs
scorecard

This was overwhelmingly England's day. Ten wickets fell for 275 runs in a compelling day, and with England taking seven of those wickets and making 184 of those runs, India were slammed firmly against the wall, a predicament depressingly familiar to them in the first Test of any overseas series.

After bowling India out just before tea, Nasser Hussain chose to build on a 266-run lead that was fattened nicely by an unbroken 108-run fourth-wicket partnership between Michael Vaughan and John Crawley. They ensured that India got no more consolation than three wickets in a mammoth 45-over session that battered them physically and mentally. Two difficult catches dropped (both off Ashish Nehra), fielding bungles and unimaginative captaincy (Virender Sehwag was brought on to bowl only the last over) ensured England raced along at 4.09 runs an over to render India's chances of saving this Test as likely as Geoffrey Boycott winning the next Miss World contest.

The Test had shifted decisively when the last seven Indian wickets crashed for just 49 runs, with India's much-vaunted middle order once again failing them. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had been put out of business in the space of 15 runs. VVS Laxman was left stranded on 43, gloomily watching his colleagues queue up to commit suicide. The graveyard of the day was a region two feet outside off stump, and the fatal weapon was short-of-a-length sucker balls. England made their own luck with a rigid strategy and a mercilessly disciplined bowling display, akin to dangling glittering bait to silly fish determined to fall for it again and again.

Sachin Tendulkar was the first to tumble into the trap, after the more assured Rahul Dravid departed for 46 fending a fierce Mathew Hoggard lifter to Michael Vaughan at point (162 for 4). By then Tendulkar had already survived a close lbw call and had seen Graham Thorpe drop him at first slip off Simon Jones. Thorpe didn't have to shiver much longer. Tendulkar nicked a wide ball off Craig White (168 for 5) to Alec Stewart, ending an ugly, uncomfortable innings. Edgy, off rhythm, cramped for room with short balls aimed at his ribs or bowled wide outside off, Tendulkar painfully scratched out 16 runs off 61 balls.

An amateurish effort followed from the Indian batsmen, to give what is essentially a second-string England pace attack five of the last seven wickets with catches in the cordon.

England struck immediately after lunch by getting rid of Ganguly for 5 (177 for 6), lazily lunging at Flintoff outside off to have Vaughan take the catch low down at point. The point region seemed to hold a powerful magnet for the Indian bat as a swish-wildly-and-perish process gave their coach John Wright a headache no aspirin can cure.

Ajay Ratra (1) fell 14 runs later, slashing acrobatically to give the impressive Jones his first Test wicket. The Indian tail lived up to the comical advertisement Ashish Nehra gave it the previous evening and England needed less than one over with the new ball to get the job done.

All five England bowlers enjoyed success, with Hoggard (3 for 33), Flintoff (2 for 22 off 19 overs), Jones and White (two wickets each) ensuring the potential key man Ashley Giles had only one over in the day. As the pitch wears further, he should get a few more overs tomorrow.

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