CRICKET: India had much the best of the opening day of the series. Fearing perhaps an ordeal against spin, England failed to take advantage of their stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff's success with the coin, found themselves distracted by Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, who bowled 53 overs yet took but a wicket apiece, and succumbed instead to a two-pronged pace attack.
Irfan Pathan and the debutant Sri Sreesanth took the remaining five wickets between them as England reached 246 for seven and leaving an uphill struggle for the second day. The England batsmen were profligate, as they had been before Christmas in Pakistan. The lesson to be learned from that experience - the absolute virtue of patience and the need to capitalise on having first use of almost any subcontinental pitch - does not appear to have been absorbed.
Wickets were gifted, most noticeably by Andrew Strauss, who should have known better than to execute a wild drive at a wide ball (the catch, a screamer taken at second slip by VVS Laxman, was sensational), Kevin Pietersen whose ambitious front-foot pull was under-edged on to his stumps, and Ian Blackwell.
Resistance came only from the new skipper, who flirted with the slips a little too much but was generally restrained for his 43, and two batsmen, Cook and Paul Collingwood.
Cook, a batsman marked for great things since first playing for Essex aged 18, looked immediately at home. Calmly, he put more senior batsmen to shame, making 60 before misreading Pathan's reverse swing and, driving, losing his off stump. It was, nonetheless, a cultured innings over the course of three hours. In all he hit seven fours.
Collingwood we know is a diligent cricketer who leaves in the dressingroom nothing in terms of effort. Yesterday, he sweated blood and more for an unbeaten 53, 3½ hours of brow-furrowing concentration in searing heat that began with three exquisitely timed clips through the on-side and finished with a four and six to complete his half-century.
He got back to the sanctuary of the dressingroom at the close knowing in Matthew Hoggard he would not lack for supportive effort but that much would rest on him if England were to post a halfway competitive total.
England's selection of Panesar is progressive and may have the stamp of Flintoff on it. There was thought that in the interest of balance Blackwell's left-arm spin might be offset by the off-breaks of Shaun Udal, with some batting competence a bonus. The Hampshire spinner has been troubled by injury on this tour though and may not be fully fit. Be that as it may, Panesar has the look of a pedigree bowler and his choice now is a victory for the specialist.
India, for their part, opted not to throw caution to the wind, play five bowlers and leave their lower ranks exposed should the mighty middle order have trouble with the England pacemen. The prospect of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of a new generation of batsman-keepers who are pushing back the frontiers of what is possible in that role, at number seven must be disheartening for England, and the fact they have only two seamers is offset by the knowledge the spinners can bowl two thirds of the day's overs.
England will be hoping the reverse swing that was employed by Pathan will be available to them. The conditions - a bare pitch and a lush but close-trimmed outfield - would suggest that at least Flintoff, England's best exponent of reverse swing after Simon Jones, may find some help that way.
Test match Scoreboard - India v England
England: First Innings
A J Strauss c Laxman b Sreesanth 28
A N Cook b Pathan 60
I R Bell c Dravid b Harbhajan Singh 9
K P Pietersen b Sreesanth 15
P D Collingwood not out 53
A Flintoff lbw b Kumble 43
G O Jones lbw b Pathan 14 I
D Blackwell b Pathan 4
M J Hoggard not out 0
Extras b1 lb6 w1 nb12 pens 0 20
Total 7 wkts (90 overs) 246
Fall: 1-56 2-81 3-110 4-136 5-204 6-225 7-244.
To Bat: S J Harmison, M S Panesar.
Bowling: Pathan 17-5-52-3; Sreesanth 18-4-56-2; Harbhajan Singh 26-5-59-1; Kumble 27-9-61-1; Tendulkar 2-0-11-0.
