PHOTOS: Tendulkar back in form but England on top

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against England in the third Test match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Wednesday.

For India, pacer Ishant Sharma replaced off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is recovering from a bout of flu.

- Scorecard: India v England, 3rd Test

England made two changes to their line-up with batsman Ian Bell and fast bowler Steven Finn replacing Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Board respectively.

After losing the first Test in Ahmedabad, England bounced back to level the four-match series 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in Mumbai.

England gained the upperhand after Day 1 as India were reduced to 237 for seven.

Electing to bat, India raced to 47 in the 11th over with Virender Sehwag (23) and Gautam Gambhir giving the hosts a good start on a flat wicket.

But Sehwag's fine innings was cut short when a misunderstanding with Gambhir cost him his wicket. In a clear case of poor communication, Gambhir did not listen to Sehwag's call, as he stood watching the ball while the right-hander almost reached the other end before Samit Patel's throw from deep midwicket caught him well short.

The tall Finn made a comeback in the side after recovering from a thigh injury that had forced him out of the first two Tests.

England introduced spin early with left-arm spinner Monty Panesar coming on to bowl the eighth over of the innings.

Panesar, who took 11 wickets in the Mumbai Test which India lost by 10 wickets, was easily picked up by Gambhir in the first over for a boundary over cover.

In Panesar's next over, Gambhir came down the track to loft him over mid-on for another boundary.

Gambhir completed his half-century from 81 balls with a single to make it two half-centuries in a row following his patient knock of 65 in the second innings of the Mumbai Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara made just 16 before he was bowled by Panesar.

Pujara, who scored centuries in the first two Tests, failed with the bat in Kolkata as he was beaten by the incoming delivery from the left-arm spinner.

India were 90 for two in 29 overs at lunch on the opening day.

England took the upperhand in the post-lunch session with two quick wickets.

Gambhir's fine innings (60) came to an end when he steered it straight to Jonathan Trott at slip off Panesar.

Virat Kohli's poor run with the bat continued. The youngster offered a regulation catch to Graeme Swann at second slip as he edged one from Anderson to leave India in trouble at 136 for four.

Kohli has now scored 65 runs in five innings in the series at an average of 16.25.

Sachin Tendulkar saved the blushes for India with a fluent half-century.

The veteran batsman was tested early on by Anderson with some rising deliveries with one of them hitting his shoulder, while Panesar kept varying his line and pace.

He was content to defend in the early part of his innings before he broke the shackles with consecutive boundaries off Anderson.

Tendulkar brought up his half-century off the first ball after the tea break as he flicked Finn fine on the leg side for a boundary.

He finally ended his run of poor scores to bring up his first fifty in 11 innings after a long wait of nearly two years.

Tendulkar was dismissed for 76 when he was caught behind by wicketkeeper Matt Prior off Anderson, who took three for 68 in 21 overs.

India captain Dhoni and Eden Gardens curator Prabir Mukherjee decided to bury the hatchet before the start of the match.

Having won the toss -- for the third time in a row -- Dhoni seemed happy with the flat track on offer as he acknowledged Mukherjee by calling him "the boss of Eden Gardens".

Just after the toss, Dhoni walked upto the 83-year-old and exchanged a few notes before both were seen laughing aloud and engaging in a bear hug.