Strauss 50 puts England in command after bowlers destroy India

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Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni marked his return to form with a blistering counterattack before India were bundled out for 224 in their first innings to give England an early control in the third cricket Test here today.

Put into bat, India were precariously placed at 111 for seven before Dhoni (77) produced a stunning array of strokeplay to give some respectibilty to the Indian total.

Dhoni, who has been struggling with form right through the series, found an able ally in Praveen Kumar (26) as they put on 84 runs for the eighth wicket on a Edgbaston track which seemed to have no demons after the first hour's play.

In reply, England openers Andrew Strauss (51) and Alistair Cook (26) helped the hosts to reach 84 for no loss at close on the opening day, trailing India by 140 runs in their first innings.

Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad were the cheif wreckers for England as they claimed four wickets each.

India had themselves to blame for the shocking collapse as most of the batsman perished to either poor shot selections or horrendous strokes. Only Rahul Dravid was dismissed by a gem of a delivery by Besnan.

Earlier, returning to action after missing the first two Tests, opener Virender Sehwag couldn't make any impact as India's famed batting lineup fall like a house of cards to be reduced to 100 for six in 34.4 overs.

India's top-order floundered once again in the face of some hostile pace bowling as openers Gautam Gambhir (38) and Virender Sehwag (0) as well as Sachin Tendulkar (1) and Rahul Dravid (22) were sent packing in the pre-lunch session.

The visitors fate didn't change much after lunch as India lost the wickets of Suresh Raina (2), VVS Laxman (30) and Amit Mishra (4) in no time and if it had not been for Dhoni, things could have been more embarrasing for India.

Did India bank too much on Virender Sehwag's return?

Pitch report: It has a fair amount of grass, but it will be on the slower side. It won't be as pacy as the ones we have had at Lord's and Trent Bridge. There will be lateral movement and it's quite damp. It's going to turn says Sourav Ganguly and the cracks are going to widen as the game progresses. Ganguly wants India to bat first if they win the toss. He reckons anything between 250-280 would be a decent score.

Teams:
India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth

England (Playing XI): Andrew Strauss(c), Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior(w), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson