Tendulkar and Gambhir flourish for India

Sachin Tendulkar produced a half-century of ominous poise and determination, with Gautam Gambhir bristling alongside him on 43 not out from 51 balls, as India's batsmen built on a typically forceful cameo from Virender Sehwag to push along to an imposing 140 for 1 at the halfway mark of their critical Group B encounter with England in Bangalore. Shorn of the services of Stuart Broad, who withdrew before the match with a stomach upset, England's bowlers maintained their composure in a fervent atmosphere, but found little reward on a pitch that offered pace, swing and a hint of turn for the spinners. 

It is a curious fact that of Tendulkar's 46 ODI centuries, only one has come against England - at Chester-le-Street in 2002 - but with 57 from 73 balls to his name at the midpoint of India's innings, he will rarely be better placed to rectify that statistic. After a cautious start, his performance began to flourish as England rang the changes in their attack, and India are perfectly placed for the 300-plus total that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have demanded after winning the toss. The opening over of the match was extraordinary. Sehwag, fresh from last week's brutal 175 against Bangladesh, faced up to James Anderson - whose ten overs had disappeared for 72 against the Netherlands - and might have been dismissed three times in five balls. Anderson's first delivery was a full-length outswinger that a flat-footed Sehwag flashed past a diving Graeme Swann at second slip; his third zipped off a leading edge and looped over Ian Bell at cover, and the fifth lollipopped back down the track and just out of Anderson's reach in his followthrough. A brace of more convenient boundaries in a nervy first over from Ajmal Shahzad took India to 16 for 0 after two overs, but England to their credit recognised that width was the single biggest crime in these conditions, especially against batsmen of the calibre of Sehwag and Tendulkar. Both new-ball bowlers tightened their line to concede 17 runs from the next four overs, before Sehwag cut loose against Anderson once again, whipping a leg-stump delivery through midwicket before flat-batting a slower ball over the head of mid-on. Sehwag's desire to put bat on ball eventually got the better of him, however, when Tim Bresnan entered the attack in the eighth over of the innings. A series of excellent stump-to-stump deliveries offered him nothing to get his teeth into, and having been limited to two runs from four balls, he attempted a cute dink to a ball that was not quite wide enough to steer through third man. Matt Prior behind the stumps stuck out his right glove, and the Chinnaswamy Stadium descended into precisely the sort of silence that Swann had declared before the match was his favourite sound in the world. 

Before long it was Swann's turn to enter the fray. Andrew Strauss turned to him at 58 for 1, as soon as the Powerplays were completed, with Tendulkar just beginning to click through the gears after a slow beginning, courtesy of two leg-side fours from consecutive Anderson deliveries. With Bresnan giving away nothing at the other end, he might have struck with the fifth ball of his second over, when Gambhir, emboldened by a sashay down the track that had resulted in a sumptuous four over long-off, tried the same stroke again, but inside-edged at a catchable height past Prior's gloves, and away for four. The cat-and-mouse tactics were thrilling to behold, as Gambhir attempted to restore India's tempo while Tendulkar bedded in to play the long innings that every home fan in the stadium yearned to see him produce. He had reached 28 from 47 balls before he signalled to the dressing room that it was time for a heavier bat, and having belted Swann back over his head for four, he turned his attentions to the offcutters of Paul Collingwood, who joined the attack as England's fifth bowler in the 18th over of the innings. Collingwood's canny variations may get the better of several batsmen in this tournament, but Tendulkar was wise to his wiles as he picked precisely the deliveries to attack. His fourth delivery was a fraction over-pitched, and was lofted handsomely into the stands at long-off; the third ball of his third over vanished over midwicket to a mighty acclaim from the crowd. But with Michael Yardy sneaking into his spell without conceding a boundary in three overs, England's discipline remained intact, even if the wickets were proving elusive.