England's Andrew Strauss trudges back to the pavilion after being caught out for 96 runs during the first day of the first Test against India at Lord's yesterday. Strauss was caught out by Rahul Dravid off a ball from Anil Kumble. - AP

LONDON (AP):

MICHAEL VAUGHAN and Andrew Strauss shared a solid second-wicket stand for England yesterday before India took three wickets in the last session to redress the balance by stumps on the opening day of the first Test at Lord's.

Helped by a 142-run partnership by Vaughan and Strauss, England reached 268 for four wickets by the close. The home team looked on course for an even better total until the pair and Paul Collingwood were out after tea.

India's wayward pace attack had provided England with little trouble, so it was veteran spinner Anil Kumble who bowled the most overs. Kumble dismissed Strauss for 96 and Collingwood for 0 either side of Vaughan's dismissal to Rudra Pratap Singh for 79.

Kevin Pietersen was unbeaten on 34 at the close, with nightwatchman Ryan Sidebottom yet to score. England, who are looking to continue their recovery after a disastrous Ashes defence in Australia, started the day well and reached 115 for one by lunch.

India's inexperienced pace attack of Zaheer Khan, Singh and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth had toiled without reward in warm sunshine, so captain Rahul Dravid introduced Sourav Ganguly to provide some variation.

The middle-order batsman trapped opener Alastair Cook leg before wicket with his fourth delivery just before the break.

Cook, who scored 398 runs at an average of 56.85 in the recent 3-0 series win over the West Indies, was given out by umpire Steve Bucknor to a ball that appeared to pitch just outside off stump. He had scored 36 off 39 balls.

Steady fashion

Vaughan, who won the toss and decided to bat first, joined Strauss with the score on 76 for one and settled in typically steady fashion after sitting out the one-day series defeat to the West Indies. Strauss was almost out for 43 in the penultimate over before lunch when he was dropped by Dinesh Karthik off Sreesanth at backward point.

The chance was so easy that Strauss, who struggled with his form in Australia and was the only one of the top seven batsman not to hit a century against the West Indies, missed seeing the spilled catch because he dropped his head and stared at the ground thinking he was out.

India gave spinner Kumble two overs before lunch in an effort to dislodge the pair but there was only minimal turn in the pitch. Kumble is the only bowler in India's side with extensive Test experience, moving to 554 wickets in his 116th Test.

Ganguly continued to bowl after lunch but failed to repeat his surprise breakthrough as Strauss and Vaughan plundered another 82 runs to the total.

But Strauss added just 12 runs after tea before edging Kumble to Dravid at slip for a soft dismissal. It was just the second time Strauss, who had looked set to score his first hundred for almost a year, had failed to convert a score in the 90s into a century.

Kumble's intervention was vital as Strauss and his captain were largely untroubled by the seamers. Vaughan was joined by Pietersen and looked like he might reach 100, but, after two breaks for bad light, he was caught by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Singh, who had started bowling around the wicket.

It was a big disappointment for Vaughan, who hit his first Test hundred in almost two years in the third Test against the West Indies, but then got stuck in the 40s three times in his subsequent four innings.

Collingwood fell three runs later to make it 255 for four, lbw to Kumble, suggesting that Sidebottom, who was filling the nightwatchman role normally taken by the injured Matthew Hoggard, should havecome in after Vaughan's dismissal.