India strike late double blow

The tourists had fought back after slumping to one for two, captain Kevin Pietersen forging a 149-run fifth-wicket stand with Andrew Flintoff to lead his team to 280 for four in reply to India's 453.

But with just minutes remaining before the umpires called a halt to the day in fading light, England lost both batsmen and slumped to 282 for six at the close, still trailing by 171 runs.

Pietersen had hit his 15th Test century and become the third fastest England player to reach 4,000 Test runs on 105, beaten only by Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton.

He hit 17 fours and a six during his brilliant 144 and transformed England's fortunes with his aggression, only for India to fight back in the closing overs.

Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan had undermined England's reply with the third ball of the innings when he won an lbw appeal against Andrew Strauss. And England slipped into further trouble in the next over with seamer Ishant Sharma continuing Ian Bell's struggles by removing his middle stump with his first delivery.

Zaheer then struck again midway through the afternoon session to make the next breakthrough, an inswinging yorker accounting for Alastair Cook lbw for 50 - his 20th innings without a century.

But with Flintoff showing aggression from the start of his innings, England quickly regained the momentum and added 154 runs in the afternoon session.

It prompted India to go on the defensive and bowl way outside off-stump for most of the final session, and it paid off in the closing minutes when Harbhajan won an lbw appeal against Pietersen.

England chose to use nightwatchman James Anderson rather than send out Matt Prior but it backfired when the Lancashire seamer took a single in what became the final over of the day to expose Flintoff, who gave a bat-pad catch to short leg off leg-spinner Amit Mishra.