Chasing an imposing 339 for a win, England were 196 for two wickets at the end of the first 30 of their allotted 50 overs against India in a crucial Group B World Cup match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today.
Skipper Andrew Strauss (109) and Ian Bell (33) were at the crease.
Opener Kevin Pietersen made 31 before he was caught and bowled by Munaf Patel when England had made 68 in 9.3 overs. His 31, compiled off 22 balls, included five hits to the fence.
Jonathan Trott made only 16 off 19 balls before he was trapped leg before wicket by Harbhajan Singh when the England total was 111 off 33.2 overs.
Earlier, opener Sachin Tendulkar hit a superbly paced and constructed 120 as India, batting first, made 338 in 49.5 overs.
Left-handers Yuvraj Singh (58) and Gautam Gambhir made half-centuries, while opener Virender Sehwag contributed 35 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni pitched in with 31.
Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first, and Tendulkar and Sehwag put on 46 for the first wicket in 7.5 overs.
Sehwag fell when he tried to guide a ball from pace bowler Tim Bresnan, that was outside the off-stump, through the vacant slips only to find wicket-keeper Matt Prior dived to his right and take a good one-handed catch.
Sehwag, who had starred in India's win over Bangladesh with a brilliant 175 in the tournament opener at Mirpur on February 19, scored 35 today off 26 balls with the help of six fours.
Tendular, rather tentative in the early stages and unable to find gaps in the tight England field, gradually came into his own and brought up the 50 of the innings with a brilliant flick to the fence front of square and then followed it up with an even more exquisite shot, this time to backward of square.
He seemed content to play the role of the anchor as Gambhir slowly opened out at the other end.
The left-hander cut a short one from Bresnan over backward point for four and then took two fours off Graeme Swann in the next over. He came down the wicket and lofted him over long-on first. Off the next ball, he tried to lift him over extra cover but got a thin inside edge tat Prior could not quite reach behind the wicket and the ball raced to the boundary for another four.
India moved into the 90s and then Tendulkar whacked one from Swann past the bowler's right for a four to bring up the 50 of the partnership off 54 balls.
The master blaster then lifted one from Paul Collingwood over the bowler's head for the first six of the match that also took India past 100.
A little later, the little master brought up his own 50 in style, picking up one from Collingwood early and lifting it high over the vacant mid-wicket region for his second six. The half-century came off 67 balls with the help of two sixes and three fours.
At the half-way mark of 25 overs, India were 140 for one, with Tendulkar battng on 57 and Gambhir on 43.
Tendulkar brought up the 150 of the innings with a six off Swann over long-on and then heaved him deep into the stands over mid-wicket off the next ball. That also brought up the 100 of the partnership between him and Gambhir. In the next over, he came up a late cut over gully for another four, this time off Ajmal Shahzad.
Clearly, Tendulkar looked unstoppable now as he hit Anderson for two successive fours, the first one a superb cover drive and the next one to square of the wicket. In the same over, Gambhir reached his half-century when a thick inside edge flew past the stumps to the fence. He had reached the mark off 59 balls with five fours.
In the next over, the 30th, Swann finally got Gambhir to come up with the much-needed breakthrough for England. The left-hander tried to turn one to third man, but the ball spun past him and knocked back his stumps. He had made 51 off 61 balls. India were 180 for two at that stage.
Things quietened down for a bit, with Swann sending down a maiden over to Yuvraj Singh in his next. In the next over, Tendulkar, now in his 90s despatched Yardy to the fine leg boundary. He took a single off Swan to take India to 200 and then whipped Bresnan to the fine leg fence to reach a superbly paced century and bring the crowd to its feet, roaring in approval. It was his fifth World Cup century, the most by any batsman, and the second against England. India were 206 for two after 35 overs.
At the other end, it was the Yuvraj Singh of yore as he picked up a low full toss from Swann and sent it over Collingwood at mid-wicket for four. In the same over, Tendulkar lifted the bowler over long-on for his fifth six.
The Indian batsmen now seemed to be toying with the England bowlers. Yuvraj pulled a short one from Bresnan for four and then Tendulkar pulled him past short fine leg for another four.
As Strauss rotated the bowling, Tendulkar hit Anderson for another four past short fine leg. But he finally left off the next ball, aiming one towards the leg but getting a leading edge to cover where Yardy took an easy catch. His 120 came off 115 balls and was studded with five sixes and 10 fours. India were 236 for three in 38.2 overs at that stage. At the end of 40 overs, the hosts were on 247 for three.
The last ten overs saw the Indians trying to put up the maximum runs on the board and lost quick wickets in the process. Yusuf Pathan could make just 14 while Kohli managed only 8. Harbhajan Singh (0), Zaheer Khan (4) and Piyush Chawla (2) were those who got out, while Munaf Patel remained unbeaten without scoring.
For England, Tim Bresnan took five for 48, while James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy took one apiece. Two of the Indians, Khan and Chawla, were run out.
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