Sachin Tendulkar hit a sparking century to lift India to a healthy 336 for 7 at close on Day 2 of the three-day tour match against England Lions at the County Ground in Chelmsford on Saturday.
The ace batsman, leading the side in the absence of an injury-recovering Rahul Dravid, played a delightful knock of 171, hitting 26 boundaries and a six in his 236-ball knock, to bail the visitors out of trouble after they were reeling at 65 for 4 at one stage.
Tendulkar, who was dropped twice early on in his innings, added 140 runs for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh, who scored a solid 59.
The Punjab left-hander was caught in the slips off pacer Stuart Broad after hitting eight boundaries in his 106-ball knock.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni also made merry on the batting-friendly strip, scoring 44 from 63 balls and hitting a few powerful shots to the boundary in the process.
The Indian wicketkeeper fearlessly took on the pace bowlers and launched into a couple of short deliveries, dispatching them to the mid-wicket boundary with utter disdain.
At the other end, Tendulkar made sure he continued building on his knock. He registered his 150 off 204 deliveries -- 20 boundaries and a six -- in the 66th over of the innings as the crowd urged him, shouting, "We want more Sachin".
Perhaps the crowd wanted to see a double century from the maestro, but it was not to be. With six overs to go in the day, Tendulkar started feeling his back, and stretched it a few times, before holing out to mid-on off pacer Graham Onions.
Perhaps, he decided it was better keeping a check on his health rather than carry on and aggravate it in a tour match.
He deservedly got a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the field. After all, he made their weekend trip worthwhile with a fine innings of 171 that saw him smash 26 boundaries and a six off 236 deliveries.
His partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni yielded 99 runs as India once again made the English Lions bowlers toil for the second session in a row.
Ramesh Powar was deceived by a well-disguised slow delivery from Ravinder Bopara and bowled for 4.
Zaheer hit a couple of lusty blows in the final over and was unbeaten on 18 from six deliveries, including three boundaries and a six.
At close on Day 2, India were 336 for 7 in 80 overs, still trailing England Lions' first innings score by 77 runs with three wickets in hand.
Even though the hosts suffered there were a few bright spots for them, particularly the bowling of the pace duo of Graham Onions and Stuart Broad, who claimed 3 for 68 and 2 for 54 respectively.
With Steve Harmison certain to miss the first Test, these two will be looking to lay claim to the pace bowling slot for the first Test at Lord's, starting Thursday.
India must now be hoping that Dhoni can provide some fireworks on Sunday morning before they declare their innings and give their bowlers another go on this track.
Disastrous start
Earlier, India's innings got off to a disastrous start as opener Wasim Jaffer fell cheaply for 1. The right-hander was trapped plumb leg before wicket to pacer Graham Onions as he missed a straight, incoming delivery.
His cheap dismissal for the third straight innings on the tour has now left the team management in a quandary. Jaffer fell for 12 and 4 in the previous match against Sussex at Hove and the management must now be pondering whether gamble by including him for the first Test at Lord's.
V V S Laxman, sent in at number three, was out to a magnificent delivery from Onions. The ball pitched just on and around the stumps, swung out a bit and took the edge of the bat straight to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose.
Laxman was out for a third ball duck as India were reduced to 2 for 2 in the second over the match.
With a heavy cloud cover hovering above and a chilly wind blowing across the County Ground, things were as dull for the Indians.
Dinesh Karthik also did not last long. He fell for 5, caught behind off pacer Stuart Broad, leaving India at a precarious 14 for 3 in the fifth over.
Tendulkar looked confident from the onset. He settled quite nicely at the wicket and played a couple of glorious drives, much to the delight of the huge weekend gathering who applauded every stroke of his with a huge roar. He added 51 runs for the fourth wicket with Sourav Ganguly, before the left-hander gifted his wicket with a poor shot.
Ganguly, on 14, did exactly opposite of what he was needed to do. With three wickets down already, the team was hoping he would spend some time at the wicket, but he tried a rash pull shot and was dismissed for 14.
He tried to pull pacer Tremlett but top-edged the ball high and was easily held by the bowler.
With the hosts on top, the onus lay on Tendulkar to bail the team out. He responded magnificently. He tried to be positive and looked to score runs at every possible opportunity. His confidence also seemed to rub off a bit on his younger partner, Yuvraj Singh.
It was a treat for the spectators, as both Tendulkar and Yuvraj started to build the innings in the afternoon session. Tendulkar, in particular, seemed to have got the measure of the wicket as boundaries started flowing at a regular rate from his wide blade.
Left-arm spinner Adil Rashid found how difficult it is for a spinner to keep Tendulkar quiet. In the 38th over of the innings, Tendulkar smashed the left-arm tweaker for two boundaries and a straight six.
In many ways, this innings it very important for Yuvraj as the left-hander chases a spot in the tightly-packed middle order. Failure for Laxman and Jaffer followed by a big innings from Yuvraj may just tilt the balance in the Punjab batsman's favour.
In the morning, Tim Bresnan continued his good form from Day 1, finishing unbeaten on 126. His 166-ball knock contained 16 boundaries and a six, as none of the Indian bowlers could make an impression against him.
The hosts played out seven overs of ten that they could have in the morning session, adding 34 runs, before inviting India to bat.
Both teams had agreed to play a maximum of 100 overs per innings in order to get an equal chance to bat at the wicket.
Chris Tremlett also enjoyed his time in the middle, finishing unbeaten on 32 from 44 deliveries, inclusive of four boundaries and a six.
For India, Zaheer Khan was the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 119 runs in 22 overs, while S Sreesanth (2 for 76) and Ramesh Powar (2 for 96) were also among the wickets.
Scorecard
England Lions (1st innings):
A Strauss b Khan 1
J Denly st Dhoni b Powar 83
O Shah c Khan b Sreesanth 11
I Trott c Ganguly b Khan 46
R Bopara c Karthik b Tendulkar 29
T Ambrose c Dhoni b Khan 4
A Rashid c & b Powar 0
T Bresnan not out 126
S Broad c Yuvraj Singh b Sreesanth 50
C Tremlett not out 32.
Extras: (b 8, lb 2, nb 21) 31
Total: (for 8 wickets decl, 97 overs) 413.
Did not bat: G Onions
Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Strauss), 2-62 (Shah), 3-142 (Denly), 4-174 (Trott), 5-184 (Ambrose), 6-185 (Rashid), 7-225 (Bopara), 354-8 (Broad).
Bowling: Zaheer 22-5-119-3, Sreesanth 21-0-76-2, Ganguly 6-2-16-0, Ishant Sharma 12-1-61-0, Powar 25-1-96-2, Tendulkar 9-0-24-1, Yuvraj 2-0-11-0.
Indians (1st innings):
D Karthik c Ambrose b Broad 5
W Jaffer lbw b Onions 1
V V S Laxman c Ambrose b Onions 0
S Tendulkar c Shah b Onions 171
S Ganguly c & b Tremlett 14
Y Singh c Strauss b Broad 59
M Dhoni not out 44
R Powar b Bopara 4
Z Khan not out 18.
Extras: (b 4, lb 4, w 2, nb 10) 20
Total: (7 wickets; 80 overs) 336 (4.20 runs per over)
To bat: S Sreesanth, I Sharma.
Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Jaffer), 2-2 (Laxman), 3-14 (Karthik), 4-65 (Ganguly), 5-205 (Yuvraj), 6-304 (Tendulkar), 7-317 (Powar).
Bowling: S Broad 16-2-54-2 (1w), G Onions 17-3-69-3 (4nb), C Tremlett 13-4-40-1 (4nb), A Rashid 12-0-90-0, T Bresnan 16-2-45-0 (1nb, 1w), R Bopara 6-1-29-1 (1nb).
