1st Test: Strauss ton puts England on top on Day 2

London Andrew Strauss hit his first century in 26 innings to lead England to 259 for 3 against West Indies at stumps on day two of the first Test, surging into a lead of 16 on Friday. Strauss' unbeaten 121, which came from 249 balls with 19 boundaries, was jubilantly received by the Lord's crowd and put England in charge.

Jonathan Trott made 58, with six fours from 134 balls on a frustrating day for West Indies, for whom Marlon Samuels was the most effective bowler with 1 for 34. Earlier, West Indies was all out for 243 to the first ball of the day when Stuart Broad, who took a career-best 7 fro 72, dismissed debutant Shannon Gabriel to give England the best possible start. 

Broad's previous best performance was 6 for 46 against India at Trent Bridge in 2011. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was left stranded on his overnight score of 87 not out, after Broad had debutant Gabriel caught at second slip by Graeme Swann for a first-ball duck.

England advanced to 47 before Alastair Cook dragged a Kemar Roach ball onto his stumps and was bowled for 26. Strauss played the occasional ugly shot, but grew in confidence alongside Trott, who looked characteristically unflustered until he survived an lbw call by the slimmest of margins early in the afternoon session.

In the 25th over Trott was rapped on the pad by West Indies captain Darren Sammy. Umpire Aleem Dar ruled Trott not out, but Sammy asked for a referral, which showed that a fraction less than half the ball would have hit the stumps — meaning the decision couldn't be overturned.

England went half an hour after lunch without scoring a boundary, but Sammy then conceded 22 runs from successive overs as Strauss moved up a gear. Strauss passed 50 with his ninth four but nerves seemed to affect him in the evening session as he moved towards his century.

On 95 he had a double reprieve when he swished at a ball from Fidel Edwards and edged it straight to Chanderpaul, who dropped an easy chance just as umpire Dar was signalling a no-ball. West Indies got an urgently needed wicket when Sammy had Trott caught behind in the 64th over — ending a 147-run stand — but Strauss brought up his century, from 213 balls, when he cut Sammy through backward point.

Having failed to score a ton since November 2010 Strauss had been under increasing pressure from sections of the British media, but the admiration of England's fans and his own teammates was seldom in doubt. Strauss was given a standing ovation by the crowd and his colleagues on the dressing room balcony, an almost suffocating bear hug from his batting partner Kevin Pietersen, and he even received sporting handshakes from his opponents.

Pietersen was in punchy form for 32 but he was caught behind trying to cut Marlon Samuels in the 77th over, after a single from Strauss from the previous delivery had brought up the 50 partnership and taken England into the lead.

West Indies' frustration was compounded when Edwards pulled with an apparent leg injury after bowling just two deliveries with the new ball, but with the light fading play was immediately suspended and then abandoned for the day.

England in awe of Chanderpaul's fight

London: Stuart Broad urged England to learn from the example of West Indies star Shivnarine Chanderpaul after the two men dominated the opening day's play in the first Test at Lord's here on Thursday. Fast bowling all-rounder Broad took 6 for 72 as West Indies closed on a total of 243 for 9 built upon 87 not out from Chanderpaul, officially the world's best Test batsman.

Broad's return meant he became only the seventh player in history to both take five wickets in a Test innings at Lord's and score a Test century at the ground - his Test-best knock of 169 against Pakistan was achieved at 'the home of cricket' two years ago.

Now Broad, whose current Test-best bowling innings return of 6 for 46 came at his Nottinghamshire home ground of Trent Bridge last year, could take seven wickets for the first time if he dismisses either Chanderpaul or debutant number 11 Shannon Gabriel on Friday. Broad is only the fifth Englishman to get his name on both Lord's batting and bowling honours boards, following in the path of Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff.

"To follow Fred (Flintoff) and Beefy (Botham) in the England dressing room is a huge honour but more importantly we got nine wickets on the first day," Broad, the 25-year-old son of former England opening batsman Chris, said.

"But we talked at the start that Lord's is never like that and it's a bit of a patience game. We aimed for seven wickets in the day. We probably didn't start as well as we could have done by the standards we set - certainly myself. I probably got driven too much - but that probably came from the wicket being a lot slower than we imagined, so we searched for a nick. As the wicket got a bit quicker, you could settle into a better length and to pick up nine, we are delighted but Shiv has played very well and we don't want him to get a hundred."

Left-hander Chanderpaul, just the 10th man in history to score 10,000 Test runs, has so far batted for over four hours, facing 175 balls with a dozen fours in a trademark display of obdurate defiance. "He plays it so late in swinging conditions," Broad said. "That's something we can learn as a batting group, although we have a great record here as a batting group. He's very hard to draw into a shot which is why he's No. 1 in the world...He gets to 20-30 without you really realising."

Adrian Barath's 42 was West Indies' second-top score on Thursday, and the 22-year-old opener - playing his first Test in England - was disappointed to have been caught in the slips off Broad shortly after lunch. "Unfortunately, I didn't carry on and get a bigger score," said Barath, 36 of whose runs Thursday came in boundaries. "I need to take it step by step and carry on to the second innings and help West Indies win the game."

Trinidad's Barath said he had tried to learn from Guyana great Chanderpaul. "He has talked about leaving the ball a bit later, picking the areas you are looking to score and having a lot of patience." Reflecting on Chanderpaul's innings, Barath added: "It was fabulous to look at. While he is playing himself in, he still knocks the ball around and picks up singles, twos and so; and before you know it, he is 20 or 30.

"That is the sort of approach young guys have to look at and learn. Ninety per cent of his game is mental. He does not want to come and blast the bowling around. It is waiting for the deliveries and having the patience. He has the right set-up to make runs in these conditions. Everyone can take a page out of his book."

3rd T20: England beat Pakistan to clinch series

Abu Dhabi: England bowlers kept their nerves in the final overs to pull off a sensational five-run win over Pakistan in the third and final Twenty20 on Monday to take the series 2-1.

Set 130 to win Pakistan were going along nicely at 107/4 with 23 needed off the last three overs and 17 off the remaining two but Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach did not lose courage and pulled off the win in the final over.

Broad dismissed a well set Umar Akmal (22) off the third ball of the penultimate over and gave away just four runs, leaving Jade Dernbach to defend 13 in the last, which he successfully did, removing Misbah-ul Haq (28) off the final delivery.

Dernbach finished with 2-24 and most importantly gave World Twenty20 champions an unexpected win.

Pakistan won the first match by eight runs while England won the second by 38 runs - both played in Dubai.

Pakistan had lost opener Mohammad Hafeez for a second nought of the series but Awais Zia (23) and Shafiq added 40 for the second wickets before Zia was trapped leg-before by Graeme Swann and Shafiq was run out.

Captain Misbah and Umar Akmal added 37 for the fourth wickets and when it looked as if that would help Pakistan cross the line England pulled back with remarkable resilience.

With 13 needed off the final over Shahid Afridi took a couple before he was run out while taking a second off the next. The next three balls produced singles and a wide and with six needed off the final ball, Misbah was bowled.

Earlier offspinner Saeed Ajmal finished with 4/23 - his third four wicket haul in the shortest form of the game - to restrict England to a modest 129/6 after they won the toss and batted.

Ajmal, who destroyed England in the preceding three-Test series with 24 wickets to help Pakistan to a 3-0 rout, put the brakes on his rival's progress.

Opener Kevin Pietersen top scored with 62 not out, keeping one end intact during his 52-ball knock for his seventh T20 fifty. He hit six boundaries and a six off the last ball of the innings.

Ajmal provided Pakistan with the breakthrough after England raced to 29 by the fifth over, dismissing Craig Kieswetter (17) off a lofted shot at long-on where Shoaib Malik took the catch.

Kieswetter had hit a four and six off paceman Umar Gul in the third over.

Pakistan had Ravi Bopara caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema for one and Eoin Morgan run out for nine before Ajmal accounted for Jonny Bairstow (three), Jos Butler (seven) and Samit Patel (16).

The match ended England's long tour of the United Arab Emirates where they lost the Tests but won the one-day series 4-0.

Pakistan beat Eng by 8 runs to win 1st T20

Dubai: Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal bowled superbly at the death to inspire Pakistan to an eight-run victory over England in the first Twenty20 international in Dubai on Thursday.

T20 World champions England looked to be cruising to a target of 145 following a quickfire 33 from the in-form Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara's 39 but man-of-the-match Gul dismissed Jos Buttler and Samit Patel with successive deliveries in the 18th over to give Pakistan hope.

Ajmal then bowled a brilliant 19th over of the innings, conceding just four runs, to put Pakistan on the brink of victory with England needing 18 off the last six balls.

Jonny Bairstow and Graeme Swann were unable find the boundary off Junaid Khan's final over and managed just nine runs.

Pakistan, beaten 4-0 in the 50-over one-day series, would clinch the three-match Twenty20 series with victory in the second game in Dubai on Saturday.

England won the toss but Pakistan raced to 36 runs in the first three overs before losing wickets at regular intervals as the scoring rate slowed.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq struck a huge six in his unbeaten 26 off 26 balls and Shoaib Malik made 39 but Swann completed figures of three for 13 from four miserly overs to restrict Pakistan to 144 for six.

Pietersen, confident following consecutive centuries in the one-day series, struck 13 runs off the first four balls of the England innings and raced to 33 off 21 deliveries before he was brilliantly caught on the leg-side boundary by Asad Shafiq trying to hit his second six.

Bopara made a fluent 39 to put England in control of their chase but Gul returned to dismiss him, Buttler and Patel in rapid succession.

2nd Test: Ajmal late strikes peg back England

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal removed Alastair Cook for 94 and took two more late wickets to restrict England to 207-5 and ensure the second Test is poised at stumps on Thursday after the second day.

Cook hit 10 boundaries in batting for nearly five hours and Jonathan Trott scored a gritty 74 with seven boundaries, but England lost 3-9 late in the day to trail by 50 runs after having bowled out Pakistan for 257 earlier in the morning.

Ajmal went wicketless for 24 overs before dismissing Cook, Kevin Pietersen (14) and Eoin Morgan (3) in his last five to finish with 3-67.

Ajmal mesmerized England's batsmen last week in taking 10-97 to inspire Pakistan to a 10-wicket win in the first Test at Dubai.

Cook put on 139 for the second wicket with Trott before he was out leg-before-wicket when he looked set for his 20th Test century.

Trott should have been out lbw on 22 off Ajmal, but Pakistan failed to ask for a television referral when replays showed that the ball would have hit the top of middle and off-stump.

Becoming frustrated with the stand, Pakistan wasted both their referrals on Trott before and after he had completed his half-century off 95 balls with six fours.

Both England batsmen were watchful as Pakistan failed to take a wicket in the second session on a pitch that offered assistance to the slow bowlers.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman broke the stand after tea when Trott missed the line of the ball which brushed his off-stump.

England had lost skipper Andrew Strauss before lunch after having ended Pakistan's innings inside 15 minutes of Thursday's play.

The out-of-form captain struggled for 42 balls before falling to offspinner Mohammad Hafeez, before Trott and Cook joined in for a stand lasting nearly 3½ hours.

Strauss scored only 16 and 9 in the first Test and looked out of sorts on Thursday against spin, with Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq deploying his slow bowlers as early as the sixth over.

Strauss succumbed when a big deflection from his bat onto his pads offered a simple catch to Asad Shafiq close to the pitch.

Earlier, Pakistan added only one run to their overnight score of 256-7 before Stuart Broad and James Anderson ended the innings in the space of 16 deliveries.

Broad finished with 4-47 after trapping Misbah lbw off his fourth delivery, which nipped back into the Pakistan captain. Misbah hit five fours and four sixes in his 84. He used the referral but TV umpire Billy Bowden upheld onfield umpire Steve Davis' decision.

Anderson trapped Ajmal lbw and forced Junaid Khan to loop a catch to slips to end the innings and enable the swing bowler to finish with 2-46.

Offspinner Graeme Swann took 3-52 while recalled spinner Monty Panesar had 1-91.

England on top against India in third Test

BIRMINGHAM,  - England enjoyed an excellent opening day in the third Test against India as they pursued a win that would see them replace the tourists at the head of the ICC's Test Championship table.

They closed on 84 without loss in reply to India's modest first innings 224, a deficit of 140 runs, at Edgbaston here on Wednesday.

England captain Andrew Strauss was 52 not out and fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook 27 not out in front of a sell-out 25,000 crowd at Warwickshire's headquarters, redeveloped at a cost of £32 million.

Their unbroken stand rounded off a good day for England, already 2-0 up, as they pursued a victory that see them take the four-match series and go to the top of the Test standings.

Strauss, in what was his best Test score this season, set the seal on a fine first day for England shortly before stumps by completing a 76-ball fifty including 10 fours.

Earlier seamers Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan, England's heroes with both bat and ball during their crushing 319-run second Test win at Trent Bridge, shared eight wickets.

Broad took four for 53 in 17 overs, with the fast-medium bowler dismissing both Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar as the India stars managed just one run between them.

Meanwhile Bresnan, recalled at Trent Bridge in place of the still-injured Chris Tremlett, had four for 62 in 20 overs.

India have yet to post 300 this series but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni prevented total embarrassment with a swashbuckling 77 after a top-order collapse reduced his side to 111 for seven.

Together with the resourceful Praveen Kumar, he added a run-a-ball 84 for the eighth wicket.

Dhoni, whose previous best score this series was 28 in the opener at Lord's, launched James Anderson for a straight six and also clubbed Bresnan high over long-on as he at last found his form with the bat.

Kumar was no silent partner, hitting a six and four fours in his 26 before, trying to hook Bresnan, he was caught by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Dhoni was evenually out when an edged drive off Broad was held by first slip Strauss to end a 96-ball knock featuring three sixes and 10 fours.

Injury-hit India, after losing the toss in overcast, seam bowler friendly conditions, slumped to 75 for four at lunch with Rahul Dravid, a century-maker at Trent Bridge, brilliantly bowled by Bresnan for 22 off the last ball before the interval.

India then lost their next three wickets for just 19 runs, with Bresnan again exposing Venkatsai Laxman's vulnerability against the short delivery when the elegant batsman didn't get over a pull short and holed out straight to Broad at long leg for 30.

Broad had previously struck first ball to remove dynamic opening batsman Sehwag for a golden duck.

Sehwag, playing his first match of the series after shoulder surgery, tried to sway out of the way of a short ball but gloved to Prior, with a review overturning Davis's initial verdict as it also did when Kumar was dismissed.

Bresnan then ended a stand worth 51 when left-hander Gambhir inside-edged onto his stumps for 38.

Gambhir's exit brought in Tendulkar who received a standing ovation as he walked out in pursuit of an unprecedented 100th international hundred.

But Tendulkar made just one before he was lured into playing a Broad delivery outside off-stump he might have left and edged to third slip Anderson.

Broad hat-trick stuns India in second Test

NOTTINGHAM,  - England's Stuart Broad became the first bowler to take a Test hat-trick at Trent Bridge as India's progress was checked spectacularly in the second Test on Saturday.

Yet at the end of a dramatic second day, India were still 43 runs ahead as England closed on 24 for one in their second innings.

Fast medium-bowler Broad took five wickets for no runs in 16 balls on his way to Test-best figures of six for 46 in 24.1 overs.

His haul also saw him become the latest bowler to deprive Sachin Tendulkar of his 100th international hundred.

India were indebted to Rahul Dravid's elegantly constructed 117 -- his 34th Test century, equalling the record of fellow India great Sunil Gavaskar and his second in as many matches after his 103 not out at Lord's.

Broad though said his remarkable return would count for little if England failed to press on to victory here.

"It's always nice to get a hat-trick anywhere but to get it at Trent Bridge is special," Broad told Sky Sports.

"We have to bat well tomorrow (Sunday) to set it up for ourselves."

He added: "It has been a big turnaround but we're here to win Test matches, not pick up individual performances."

Dravid, who shared stands of 93 with VVS Laxman (54) and 128 with Yuvraj Singh (62), said: "It was hard work. The wicket did get easier than yesterday (Friday)."

"They have a good quality bowling attack and they tested us."

Looking ahead, Dravid added: "We need to take wickets early on. Tomorrow's morning session is going to be crucial.

"We have to restrict them as much as we can and chase what we have got to chase.

Broad's haul came after he top-scored in England's first innings 221 with 64.

"The last two games have been enjoyable so far but it means nothing unless we win the game," Broad said. "You always get a bit of stick when you are not doing well."

It looked as if India would build a commanding first innings lead until the advent of the new ball in the day's final session with the tourists 258 for four off 80 overs.

Yuvraj Singh, playing his first Test in over a year, had played well for his 62 and helped Dravid add 128 for the fifth wicket.

But he fended at a good length delivery from Broad and was caught behind.

Shortly after, Broad removed India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who wafted outside off stump and was caught at second slip by James Anderson.

Next ball Harbhajan Singh was lbw, South African umpire Marais Erasmus raising his finger even though replays showed the batsman had got an inside-edge onto his pad.

But, because of Indian objections to ball-tracking technology, there are no lbw reviews in this series so Harbhajan had to go.

However, there was no doubt when Broad clean bowled Praveen Kumar to become the first England bowler to take a Test hat-trick since Ryan Sidebottom achieved the feat against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2007/08.

Broad was only the 12th England cricketer in 134 years of Test cricket to take a hat-trick and the first to achieve the feat at Trent Bridge.

It was also the first ever Test hat-trick against India.

Broad ended the innings by removing Ishant Sharma, taken by Ian Bell at short leg, as India were bowled out for 288 -- a first innings lead of 67 runs.

Broad's fourth five-wicket haul in a Test match surpassed his previous best of six for 91 against Australia at Headingley two years ago.

In the midst of this stunning collapse, Dravid was ninth man out when an uppercut off Tim Bresnan flew straight to Alastair Cook at third man.

Dravid, opening the innings after Gautam Gambhir was ruled out because of an elbow injury, batted for over six hours for his century.

He upstaged Tendulkar, who came out to a standing ovation, but fell for 16 to his sixth ball after lunch when he edged a cut off Broad to England captain Andrew Strauss at first slip.

There was still time before stumps for England to lose Alastair Cook before Strauss and Bell, batting at No 3 after Jonathan Trott suffered a shoulder injury, saw the hosts to the close.

Broad revives England as India hit back in second Test

NOTTINGHAM, England  - Stuart Broad again proved a thorn in India's side with the bat as he rescued England from total collapse on the first day of the second Test at Trent Bridge here on Friday.

England slumped to 88 for six after losing the toss in overcast, swing-friendly, conditions.

But Broad, batting at number nine on his Nottinghamshire home ground, top-scored with 64 in a total of 221.

India at stumps were 24 for one in reply, a deficit of 197 runs, as they looked to level this four-match series at 1-1 after losing the first Test at Lord's by 196 runs.

Rahul Dravid, who made an unbeaten century at Lord's, was seven not out and Venkatsai Laxman 13 not out after India lost opener Abhinav Mukund to the first ball of their innings when he pushed at James Anderson and was caught in the gully by Kevin Pietersen.

"India certainly won three quarters of the day but we managed to grab a bit of momentum back towards the end and probably ended up a bit disappointed not to pick up more wickets," Broad said.

"Unfortunately we lost six pretty quick wickets but we are still in with a shout of winning the Test match. It is swinging consistently as it always does at Trent Bridge."

Earlier, India's pace trio of Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, recalled in place of the injured Zaheer Khan, all took three wickets apiece.

"I enjoy bowling here (in England)," said Sreesanth, who took three for 77 in 19 overs.

"We missed Zaheer and I was lucky enough to come in. I enjoyed bowling on this wicket and felt like taking it (the pitch) wherever we go."

Sreesanth, who in India's seven-wicket win over England at Trent Bridge in 2007 was fined for shoulder-barging Michael Vaughan and also bowled a beamer at Pietersen, received some flak from the crowd after trying to claim a 'catch' when the ball had bounced in front of him.

But the 28-year-old said the jeers had motivated him in an innings where Kumar took three for 45 and Sharma three for 66.

"I love it, it's better to leave me alone. Thanks to them for cheering me up," Sreesanth explained.

England captain Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell were the only other batsmen apart from Broad to make more than 30.

But Broad, who together with Nottinghamshire colleague Graeme Swann added 73 for the ninth wicket at better than a run-a-ball, said life had been tough for England's top-order.

"You can't look and blame anyone for throwing their wickets away, I thought India bowled pretty well. The ball has done a little bit today (Friday) and it was a good toss to win."

England came into this match knowing they would replace India at the top of the ICC's Test rankings if they won this 2-0 or better.

But during the last decade India have either won or squared several series after losing the first Test.

And although they were without left-arm quick Zaheer due to the hamstring injury that had forced him off the field early on at Lord's, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to field after winning the toss.

Sharma made the breakthrough when he had Alastair Cook lbw for two before Sreesanth had Jonathan Trott, on four, caught by second slip Laxman.

England, 69 for two at lunch, lost six wickets for 55 runs in the second session with Kumar striking twice in four balls.

Five balls after lunch, Pietersen, on 29, was squared up by Sreesanth and nicked to third slip Suresh Raina.

Swing bowler Kumar rocked England with a Test-best five for 106 at Lord's and, on Friday, he dismissed Strauss when a full-blooded drive was well-caught by Raina.

That same over saw 85 for four become 85 for five when Kumar's outswinger to Eoin Morgan had the left-hander lbw for nought.

Matt Prior had frustrated India with an unbeaten century after England had collapsed to 62 for five in their second innings at Lord's.

But on Friday he made just one before edging Sreesanth to first slip Dravid.

Bell, dropped on 22, got himself out when he flat-footedly cut at Sharma and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Dhoni.

Broad and Swann hit out before their stand ended when Swann gloved a rising delivery from Kumar to Mukund on 28.

Off-spinner Swann was sent for an X-ray on his left hand but scans, according to an England statement, showed "no siginificant damage" and he is expected to be fit to bowl.

Left-handed batsman Broad, who made an unbeaten 74 in the second innings at Lord's, on-drove Kumar for his seventh four to complete a 56-ball fifty before he was last man out when he holed out to off-spinner Harbhajan.

Anderson paves way for perfect England victory

LONDON, July 25  - England produced a disciplined and determined bowling display at Lord's on Monday to dismiss the world's most talented batting lineup for the second time and win their 100th test against India by 196 runs.

James Anderson was the home side's hero on the final day of the first test with five for 65, including the wickets of Rahul Dravid (36), VVS Laxman (56) and Sachin Tendulkar (12).

The trio have accumulated more than 35,000 test runs between them for the world's top-ranked side, with Tendulkar holding the world record of 14,738.

Captain Andrew Strauss preferred to praise the overall contribution of Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann rather than dwell on individuals.

"I think over the two innings it was as close to the perfect bowling performance as we have had in the last two years," Strauss said. "That's saying a lot because we have bowled exceptionally well quite consistently."

Spectators queued throughout the early hours of the morning for the last day of the 2,000th test with 20,000 tickets available for the last rites of a consistently engrossing match.

More than 25,000 people crammed into the game's world headquarters in addition to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members with support equally divided for England and India.

"I think it was a great atmosphere," Strauss said. "You expect Indians to have a lot of support over here and it was fantastic. I think there was a lot of support for us as well.

"That added to the mix, we all appreciate playing test matches in front of full houses. It makes you feel that you are doing something important, it makes you feel that every wicket you take, every run you score is appreciated by someone.

"The more crowds we have over the the course of the summer the better not just for us but for the future of test cricket."

As it had been in the World Cup final in Mumbai on April 2, the stage was set for the greatest batsman of modern times to complete 100 international centuries.

Once again, though, Tendulkar failed to deliver, extending instead his mystifyingly mediocre record at Lord's. Tendulkar made 18 in Mumbai, albeit in a winning cause, and 34 in the first innings at Lord's on Saturday.

Still feeling the effects of a virus which kept him off the field for most of Sunday, he was all but strokeless on Monday, labouring for 85 minutes for 12 runs.

He survived an appeal for lbw on 11 when the ball looked to have hit straight in front of the stumps and was dropped on 12 by Strauss at first slip, the second lapse by the England skipper who also dropped Dravid in India's first innings.

"He (Tendulkar) felt weak after the first innings," said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "He's much better now but I wouldn't say he's 100 percent."

By time Tendulkar had arrived at the crease India's were already rocking after Dravid was out lbw to Anderson having added just one to his overnight total.

Laxman batted calmly to reach his 53rd test half-century with eight boundaries but he gifted his wicket to Anderson, playing a loose shot which was caught by Ian Bell at mid-wicket.

His dismissal brought Tendulkar to the crease with a standing ovation from a packed Lord's crowd.

Gautam Gambhir was out lbw to Graeme Swann and at lunch India were a precarious 142 for four and when Tendulkar failed to fire after the interval the writing was on the wall for India despite a fighting 78 from Suresh Raina.

ZAHEER MISSED

With three tests remaining in the series followed by five one-day matches and a tour of Australia to follow this year, Tendulkar will assuredly reach a landmark unlikely to be equalled. But at the age of 38, it will not now come at Lord's where his test average is 21.66 compared to an overall 56.68.

Strauss said before the match that he thought England were ready to assume the mantle of world test champions. They will overtake India in the rankings if they win the series by at least a two-match margin.

"To be the number one side in the world you have to grab opportunities," he said on Monday. "I think we did that very well in this game. But it's the first match in a four-match series so we can't get carried away.

"I think we just demonstrated that when we play well we're a match for anyone. We have got to make sure we play well again."

Dhoni, who hit an unbeaten 91 in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka and who has yet to lose a test series as captain, said the loss of his leading strike bowler Zaheer Khan with a hamstring injury on the opening day had been crucial.

"It became quite tough for us to manage the bowlers after losing Zaheer," he said. "It was very difficult for us to manoeuvre with three bowlers. We didn't have too many options."

Dhoni said uneven bounce on Monday had troubled his batsmen while he had also been forced to change his batting order. Dravid opened the batting in place of Gambhir, who had suffered a painful blow on his elbow while fielding, and Tendulkar came in at number five instead of four.

"It was tough for the batsmen and most of them were batting in different slots. I think that also added pressure," he said.

The teams have only three days off before the second test begins at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday. The third is scheduled for Edgbaston and the series concludes at the Oval.

England on top despite Dravid ton

LONDON  - England remained in charge of their series opener with India despite Rahul Dravid finally achieving the coveted dream of a Test century at Lord's on Saturday -- 15 years after falling agonisingly short.

At the close of the third day, England were five without loss in their second innings, a lead of 193 runs after bowling India out for 286 in reply to their first innings 474 for eight declared.

The 38-year-old Dravid, dropped on 42, made 103 not out, finally getting his name on the Lord's honours board 15 years after he was dismissed for 95 on his debut in 1996.

His 33rd hundred in 154 Tests and fifth against England was key to India avoiding the follow-on.

It also went some way to compensating India fans who saw Sachin Tendulkar fall for 34 when what they wanted was for the 'Little Master' to score his 100th international hundred.

Dravid has struggled in recent times and during India's tour of South Africa at the turn of the year managed just 120 runs in six Test innings.

"There have been stages when I?ve doubted myself but that?s just natural being a professional sportsman when you go through some tough times," Dravid said. "You just have to enjoy what you do and keep trying to get better.

Tendulkar fell to Stuart Broad who, in increasingly overcast, seam-friendly conditions, led England's attack with a miserly four for 37 in 22 overs.

"Of course it was lovely to get Sachin but I'd say the same about any leader of any batting line-up," Broad said. "He played fantastically well for his 30-odd but we were delighted to see the back of him."

India had hoped to have Zaheer Khan, their strike bowler, back for England's second innings after the left-arm quick spent most of the first innings off the field with a hamstring strain.

But, worryingly for India, he did not take the field for the five overs England batted on Saturday.

England captain Andrew Strauss was three not out and Alastair Cook unbeaten on nought at stumps.

The 38-year-old Tendulkar was given the unusual honour of a standing ovation by a capacity 28,500 crowd as he walked out to bat in what could be his last Test at Lord's, with India 77 for two.

Tendulkar's first boundary, a backfoot puched cover-drive off fast bowler Chris Tremlett, was a classic.

But a 58-ball innings, featuring six fours, ended when Tendulkar edged a good length ball from Broad low to Graeme Swann at second slip and that meant his Test-best score at Lord's remained the 37 he made in 2007.

Broad, who bowled India's openers before lunch, might have dismissed all the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman -- who now have 100 Test hundreds between them -- but for dropped catches.

Laxman was on nought when Strauss put down a sitter at first slip and the same over saw Swann, diving to his right, fail to hold a more difficult chance offered by Dravid.

Laxman, though, fell for 10 when he timed a flick off Tremlett so well, the ball flew straight to Jonathan Trott at long leg.

England took the new ball as soon as they could with India 235 for five off 80 overs.

After India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh were caught behind the wicket off Tremlett, India were 241 for seven -- still needing 34 to avoid the follow-on.

But Praveen Kumar, who had taken a Test-best five for 106 with his medium-pacers on Friday, proved a thorn in England's side with the bat.

Dravid, 80 when Kumar came in, went into the 90s with a typically stylish on-driven four off Tremlett before Kumar's single off Broad saved the follow-on.

However, Kumar was out for 17 when he skied a Broad bouncer and Strauss, running back from first slip, held the catch.

Dravid was now on 94 and batting with Zaheer, who had Kumar as his runner.

But Dravid then struck a magnificent cover-drive for four off the backfoot against Tremlett to go to 98.

And two off the paceman took him to a hundred completed in 202 balls with 15 boundaries in just over five hours at the crease.