India are on the ropes after the second day of their four-day match against Queensland after Andrew Symonds and Martin Love each plundered centuries in a 200-plus partnership smashed at more than five an over.

At the end of day two at The Gabba in Brisbane, Queensland are 7/363, a first-innings lead of 86.

India's first innings came to end on the third ball of the day Saturday. Resuming on 9/273, Kumaran smashed a boundary from Adam Dale's first delivery, and was dismissed two balls later, caught at third slip by Geoff Foley, for the Queensland swing bowler's only wicket of the innings. After an economical opening spell by Mohanty and Prasad, Matthew Hayden started to cut loose before Jimmy Maher (10) was trapped lbw by Orissa paceman Mohanty.

Kumaran replaced Mohanty and put a cap on the runrate, with Martin Love replacing Maher. Hayden, one of the enigmas of Australian cricket in the nineties, pulled Prasad forward of short leg for the first six of the match. Hayden had reached 44 when he edged Prasad to the waiting hands of Rahul Dravid, his innings generating six fours and a six.

Queensland captain Stuart Law made the briefest of appearances. Standing at the non-strikers end, he was out of his ground as Martin Love played a nicely-struck straight drive back to bowler Anil Kumble, who deflected the ball onto the stumps at the bowler's end. Law was run out without facing a ball. Queensland were 3/91, India sensing the prospect of a first innings lead.

Law's departure brought Andrew Symonds to the crease, and he took little time to settle into the scoring. While Love hit two boundaries in reaching his 50 from 86 balls, Symonds was taking the aggressive role, Kumble being a favourite target. The century partnership came up after just 76 minutes.

The run-rate failed to relent as Tendulkar unsuccessfully brought Vijay Bharadwaj (0/29 from four overs) into the attack. Queensland went to tea at 3/241, with 170 runs scored in the two-hour session.

Love brought up his century after tea with a drive off Kumble to the extra cover fence. It was his ninth boundary scored from his 149th ball faced for the innings. Symonds was not far behind, two fours in the space of three deliveries off Kumble taking him from 93 to 101. His 19th first-class hundred was achieved off just 110 balls, 74 runs (17 fours and a six) coming from boundaries.

With Martin Love bringing up his 5000th career run at 113, it was soon time for the third century of the innings - Anil Kumble's. The 29 year-old leg-spinner has waited a long time for his first first-class appearance in Australia, but it took him only 19.3 overs to have the dreaded 0/100 against his name.

Love fell when on 120, edging Kumaran to wicketkeeper Mannava Prasad. The 204-run partnership between Love and Symonds had taken exactly forty overs to accumulate. For Love, it was not the first time he has terrorised touring attacks for Queensland, having scored 201 (retired hurt) against New Zealand two years ago.

Kumaran claimed the next two Queensland wickets, Geoff Foley (4) out hooking to the waiting Laxman, while Wade Seccombe (8) was perhaps unlucky to have the ball adjudged as touching his bat instead of his helmet.

Symonds finally departed at the end of the penultimate over of the day, having made 161. He was adjudged lbw off the bowling of Mohanty, having faced 174 deliveries and scored 26 fours and a six. It cannot be long before The Man That Got Away From English Cricket finds a berth in the Australian Test side... and including Symonds in place of Mark Waugh before the season's end may not be as bizarre a thought as it first looks.

Adam Dale and Andy Bichel, both capable tailend batsmen, were each on 3 at the close. For India, Kumaran (3/54) was the success of a lean day in the field. Though number five in the Indian pace bowling pecking order, it would not surprise if he finds his way into the Indian eleven some time during this Test series. Prasad (1/93) had a tougher time of things, but for Kumble (0/121 from 26 overs) it was a day to forget.