Andrew Strauss top-scored with 96 as England amassed 268 for 4 against India on a rain-affected opening day of the first Test at Lord's, in London, on Thursday.
England's batsman dominated the day, except the final few overs when they lost two quick wickets.
Captain Michael Vaughan fell for 79, and Paul Collingwood followed him in the next over as India fought their way back after struggling right through the day.
Strauss and Vaughan added 142 runs for the second wicket after Alastair Cook had given the team a fine start with a quick knock of 36 from 39 deliveries, which included six boundaries.
Part-timer seamer Sourav Ganguly provided India the first breakthrough, claiming the wicket of Cook, after the pace attack of Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth and R P Singh turned in a lackluster display in the first session.
R P Singh though managed to redeem himself at the end of the day by claiming the wicket of Vaughan for 79.
Kumble, though, was India's best bowler, bagging two wickets for 56 runs in 22 overs.
Morning session: (115 runs, 28 overs, 1 wicket)
India's opening bowlers, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth, failed to make good use of the new ball as they sprayed it around on both sides of the wicket. Opener Alastair Cook started off confidently, hitting Sreesanth for two boundaries in the second over as the bowler drifted on his pads on both occasions. Andrew Strauss then edged the ball for a couple of boundaries in Zaheer's next over and England were off to a flier.
Sreesanth's first two overs were a struggle as he struggled to find the right line and length. As he walked back to the fine leg region after his second over, Sourav Ganguly walked up to him, cheered him up and offered a few words of advice.
Indian captain Rahul Dravid employed the 7-2 field, with just two fielders on the leg side. But his bowlers did exactly the opposite of what was expected of them and continued bowling on the batsmen's pads.
England raced to 40 for no loss after five overs, and it was not surprising that left-armer R P Singh replaced Sreesanth, who opted for a change of ends.
Zaheer gave away 19 runs from his first three overs before he was replaced by Sreesanth at the pavilion end. However, Sreesanth's misery continued as the first ball of his new spell drifted on Strauss's pads and the left-hander promptly dispatched it to the mid-wicket boundary.
Just an hour into the match and India were already feeling the pressure. England cruised to 76 for no loss in 14 overs, which included 12 boundaries. Cook, on 33 from as many deliveries, and Strauss, on 29, looked very comfortable on a good batting track, of course, helped by some poor bowling by India's pacers.
Ganguly replaced Sreesanth after the pacer struggled in his second spell. The former India captain's magic worked instantly as he struck, claiming the wicket of Cook. The left-hander tried to play across as the ball swung and was adjudged leg before wicket for 36. England lost their first wicket for 76 in the 15th over.
Michael Vaughan also started off in confident fashion. Two boundaries off Ganguly in the 21st over were a real treat as he stroked the bowler though both sides of the wicket. A beautiful cover drive was followed by a sweet flick through midwicket off the next ball as England brought up their 100.
India started to take stock of the things late in the second session and the pacers resorted to some tight, disciplined bowling. Their strategy was quite simple: stop the flow of runs, especially the boundaries.
It seemed to work, as Strauss's (43) patience finally ran out. He slashed a ball straight to Dinesh Karthik at point, but the Chennai youngster made a mess of the easy offering in the 27th over and put down an easy chance off Sreesanth's bowling.
It was quite a vital miss considering the plight the Indians were in. That catch would have provided Sreesanth, as also the team, a huge moral boost just at the stroke of lunch.
Strauss was unbeaten on 43 as England reached 115 for 1 after 28 overs at lunch. At the other end, Vaughan was not out on 23.Post-lunch session: (82 runs, 29 overs, no wickets)
Post-lunch session: (82 runs, 29 overs, no wickets)
England continued to build in the post-lunch session. Strauss settled down nicely and completed a half-century off 109 deliveries, his third at Lord's, a successful hunting ground for the left-hander, having scored three centuries in seven matches on it.
India looked more intent on controlling the flow of runs, and with the start England had got off to it was obvious they had to be a bit defensive.
The Indian bowling continued to struggle. A clear case example was the 36th over, when R P Singh bowled a juicy half-volley to Vaughan which was promptly despatched to the mid-wicket boundary. The left-armer then sent down another similar delivery and the result was the same. It was as if the Indian pacers were not prepared to learn from their mistakes.
Vaughan cruised to his 15th Test half-century, off 118 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries in the process. Soon the duo also brought up a 100-run partnership for the second wicket off 305 deliveries, hitting 27 boundaries between them.
Even Kumble found the going tough, having to control the run-scoring on a first-day pitch. After negotiating the error-prone seamers, Strauss and Vaughan found the going easy against the veteran spinner.
Dravid rotated his bowlers around, but to no avail. The only bowler who made some sort of impression was Ganguly, who at times managed to beat the edge of the bat. Other than that the Indian bowlers had nothing to show for in the post-lunch session.
For two sessions in a row India were made to do the running.
The opening day of a Test is always quite critical and England certainly started off better than India. The hosts knew that batting is their strength in absence of their key bowlers and thus had no choice but to bat on the winning toss. And certainly they made best use of the wicket with some solid batting.
The real credit for the position they are in must go to Strauss, who just a few days back was facing criticism from all and sundry. The half-century in the second innings of the tour match against India last week was the catalyst to get back to form and he hasn't looked back since.
At tea, England were comfortably placed on 197 for 1, Strauss leading the way with a fine knock of 84 from 163 balls, inclusive of 14 boundaries.
Vaughan was not out on 57, inclusive of nine boundaries.
Looking back, Karthik's dropped catch off Strauss, when the left-hander was on 43, is proving to be so costly for India.
Dravid will be hoping for an early wicket after tea, else another long leather hunt is on the cards.
Post-tea session: (71 runs, 22.3 overs, 3 wickets)
India finally got the break they were so desperately looking for half an hour after tea. Once again it was old warhorse Kumble who delivered when the team needed it the most.
Strauss, on 96, and looking set for his fourth century at Lord's in eight Tests, suddenly lost the plot. He stepped out to the veteran spinner, who, equal to the task, dropped short and spun it the other way. Beaten in flight, Strauss tried to defend, but the googly took the outside edge straight to a delighted Dravid at first slip.
Strauss hit 16 boundaries in his 186-ball knock, adding 142 runs for the second wicket with Vaughan before walking back to a standing ovation from a packed audience at Lord's.
One man who might have been very relieved seeing Strauss walk back would no doubt be Karthik, who dropped him on 43.
That wicket brought Kevin Pietersen to the middle and it was clear that if he got settled on this wicket he would be a real threat to India. However, play could not continue for long after that as rain and bad light stopped play.
England were 233 for 2 in 70.1 overs when play was stopped, with captain Vaughan unbeaten on a fine knock of 76 from 186 balls, inclusive of 11 boundaries.
It got very dark and a light shower forced the players back to the comfort of the dressing room. Play was held up for 53 minutes because of the unfriendly weather, but even when the players walked back to the field it hadn't brightened enough.
An interesting contest lay ahead as the aggressive Pietersen squared up against Kumble. With the end of play not very far and light fading, it was interesting to see whether the exciting England batsman would dare to take on the ace spinner as he does with all bowlers when at the crease.
Finally, at 1800 local time (2230 IST) the umpires offered the batsmen the light, which they promptly accepted and walked back to the pavilion, but only to return 25 minutes later when it brightened up a bit.
Then, in a magical moment, suddenly the sun peeped out of nowhere. Off the very next ball Vaughan was out, caught behind off R P Singh. A few minutes earlier he had walked back to the pavilion, perhaps thinking play would not restart as the light was so bad and must have relaxed a bit.
Three overs later he was walking back to the pavilion and this time permanently, at least for the first innings. He, however, played a fine innings, hitting 11 boundaries in his 201-ball knock that stretched nearly four hours.
Then in the next over, Kumble struck, trapping Paul Collingwood leg before wicket for 0. Suddenly, things were turning India's way, though late in the day.
Collingwood was beaten by the quicker delivery from Kumble that went straight, catching the right-hander in front of the stumps.
Two wickets for three runs in the space of nine deliveries saw England being reduced to 255 for 4 after 78 overs.
Ryan Sidebottom walked in as the night-watchman as England looked to preserve their top batsmen in the wake of fading light.
A few more minutes later the players again walked off, bad light signaling the end of the day's play.
At close on day one, England were 268 for 4 in 80.3 overs. More than an hour's play was lost to rain and bad light.
Pietersen was unbeaten on 34 from 51 deliveries as England hobbled towards the end after such a fine start in the morning.
For India, things got worse once their opening pace bowlers sprayed the ball over and handed the initiative in the very first hour of play. They restored some pride though in the final session by grabbing two quick wickets to send back Vaughan and Collingwood.
The most disappointing effort of the day came from Zaheer, who conceded 55 runs in 14 overs, without ever making any sort of any impression on a first day wicket at Lord's.
For Sreesanth, it seemed the nerves got the better of him, as he bowled on the pads most of the time, giving away easy runs.
Kumble was easily India's best bowler; he toiled hard for his return of 2 for 56 in 22 overs, which included the prized wicket of Strauss for 96.
Ganguly took 1 for 24, scalping Cook early to make the breakthrough for India.
India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad must really be clueless about what hit the fast bowlers as they all went haywire in the first session itself. One hopes they can build up on the good work in the final few overs of the first day and claw their way back.
India's chances of dismissing England early on day 2 depends on how soon they can get Pietersen out.
