Dravid has England on back foot

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The former India captain entered the match at the PCA Stadium under pressure for his place after scoring only two half-centuries in his last 19 Test innings.

But Dravid played a key role in establishing India's strong position in the final Test today by hitting an unbeaten 50 and sharing in an unbroken 128-run stand with Gautam Gambhir (78no), which guided their side to 134 for one at tea on the first day.

The tourists were given a flying start in their bid to bounce back from the disappointment of their first Test defeat with Stuart Broad marking his recall by dismissing dangerous opener Virender Sehwag with his sixth ball of the match.

Having dismissed the explosive Sehwag, who was man of the match at Chennai, England then struggled to make any further inroads as Gambhir teamed up with Dravid to dominate after India won the toss and decided to bat first.

Nottinghamshire seamer Broad, overlooked for the opening Test while he continued his recovery from a hamstring strain, was preferred to strike bowler Steve Harmison as England made just one change to the line-up beaten by six wickets at the Chepauk Stadium.

Recalled to the side just two Tests ago, Durham fast bowler Harmison disappointed to such an extent in the previous Test that captain Kevin Pietersen gave him only six overs on the final day as India chased down their victory target.

The decision to drop Harmison for the second time this year was quickly vindicated in the second over of the match with Broad seaming the ball away from Sehwag and inducing an edge behind.

But despite an impressive new-ball spell from Broad, England struggled to build on that success as Gambhir and Dravid began to exploit a flat batting wicket.