Denly's assertive 83, his fifth half-century of the season, set the ball rolling for England Lions, after they'd elected to bat on a benign surface. Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah fell cheaply and it was left to Jonathan Trott to support Denly in his aggressive knock. Denly's dismissal, though, triggered a mini-collapse: Zaheer induced edges from Trott and Tim Ambrose before Powar got Adil Rashid popping back the simplest of catches. Ravinder Bopara's wicket, at the stroke of tea, meant that the Indians ended the session with plenty to smile.

Denly was no doubt the most confident batsmen on view. He was particularly severe on Zaheer's full-pitched deliveries early on, clattering as many as five fours in the ninth over, and raced to 43 in just 29 balls. It was only when Zaheer changed his length, at the start of his second spell, that Denly was in any sort of trouble, fishing outside off at deliveries that cut away. However, he regained his composure soon, brought up his fifty with a crisp crack through midwicket and went to lunch set for a big one. Ultimately, he couldn't resist the temptation to charge down the track to a flighted offbreak from Powar, left a big gap between bat and pad and watched MS Dhoni pull off a neat stumping.

His dismissal fired up the Indians, especially Zaheer. He cranked up his pace and troubled the batsmen outside off. He mixed up his length well, occasionally slipping in a well-directed bouncer, and didn't flag at any point. Trott, who reached 40 without much problem, was suddenly rattled and fell to a half-hearted drive away from his body. Ambrose followed soon, undone by a fuller ball that ricochet off the edge to the wicketkeeper. Bopara and Bresnen added 40 in quick time but Sachin Tendulkar, bringing himself on just before tea, lured Bopara into an airy flick, only for Dinesh Karthik to pull off a smart reflex catch at short leg.