Close India 302 for 8 (Sehwag 106, Ganguly 68)
Scorecard

Only 25 overs of play were possible on a wet, overcast day. India did well through the first 21 of those, but England fought back, taking three wickets in the last 23 balls. India went past 300, but Sourav Ganguly would feel they could have ended the day with at least one more wicket in hand.

His own dismissal for 68, off the first ball he faced after tea, would have irked him more than any other. He had played a classy innings, negotiating the swing of Matthew Hoggard and Andy Flintoff with admirable ease - displaying his trademark elegance on the off side which was a throwback to his magical debut series in 1996 - when he was out to a controversial decision. Hoggard dug in a short one, Ganguly went for the pull, got a deflection, and was given out caught behind by umpire Russel Tiffin. Ganguly was clearly annoyed – it was easy to lip-read him saying "not again" as he walked back. Replays were inconclusive, but Ganguly clearly felt he had been hard done by for the second time in three innings.

Ganguly and VVS Laxman came out to resume India's innings at 2.20pm local time after persistent rain had delayed start by more than three hours. Ganguly was solid from the start, but lost Laxman early when he wafted loosely at a widish awayswinger from Flintoff, and the edge was gleefully accepted by Robert Key at first slip. Laxman didn't add to his overnight 22 (218 for 5).

With the new ball not far away, it was exactly what India didn't want, but Ganguly made light of that early loss with some scintillating strokeplay. He raced from 35 to 51 with four magnificent fours in seven deliveries. Hoggard got the treatment first, when Ganguly straight-drove him and then creamed him through cover for consecutive fours.

Nasser Hussain replaced Hoggard with Craig White, only for Ganguly to produce two more vintage cover-driven boundaries. Hoggard came back with the new ball and struck a nasty blow on the base of Ganguly's helmet, but the batsman replied with a magnificent back-foot cover-drive in the next over. The ball was swinging appreciably, but Ganguly was secure in defence, played close to his body and seldom played and missed.

At the other end, Ajit Agarkar repeatedly flirted with danger but survived. Flintoff tested him with full-length awayswingers outside off, and Agarkar chased the ball repeatedly, either missing it or edging it over the slips cordon. One such airy waft brushed the substitute fielder Darren Maddy's fingers on the way to the boundary. Agarkar played a couple of sublime shots too – a back-foot punch through cover off Flintoff oozed class – but it was hardly a surprise when he sliced a short delivery from Steve Harmison to third man, where Mark Butcher dived forward to hold on to the catch (285 for 6). Replays suggested the ball might have brushed the ground as Butcher completed the catch, but Agarkar walked, and Harmison had his first Test wicket. Agarkar made 34, and his 67-run partnership with Ganguly had helped tide over the early dismissal of Laxman.

Harmison was unimpressive throughout, but struck in consecutive overs, ending Parthiv Patel's debut innings in a mere eight balls with a lifter which Patel edged to Flintoff at third slip for a duck (287 for 7). And when Ganguly was given out just after tea, India had suddenly lost three wickets for 10 runs. Harbhajan Singh struck a few lusty blows to take India past 300, but Nasser Hussain would be fairly pleased with the day's play.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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