India Hit Back Strongly At The Oval

Andrew Caddick made a solitary inroad as the tourists closed the second day on 66 for one, having dismissed England for 515.

Caddick enticed Virender Sehwag, whom he had struck with a forceful sweep while batting, into playing away from his body and Dominic Cork held the catch at second slip.

But from 18 for one in the fourth over, the ever dependable Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Bangar dug in.

England were finally dismissed shortly after tea, a score they would perhaps consider slightly undercooked given their powerful overnight total of 336 for two.

Sourav Ganguly's India chipped away at the England order once Michael Vaughan failed by five runs to register a Test double hundred for the second time in a month.

Yorkshire batsman Vaughan, who on Thursday became only the sixth player in history to score four Test tons in an English summer, succumbed to his 13th ball of the morning.

Having made a career-best 197 at Trent Bridge, the 27-year-old missed out again as a fine edge behind to a good ball from left-armer Zaheer Khan finished his six and a quarter hour vigil.

That snick brought an end to his 279-ball innings in which he struck 29 boundaries.

He walked off to another standing ovation and thereafter ball dominated bat as Zaheer and Sanjay Bangar exploited the bowler-friendly conditions in the morning session.

Cork offered stern resistance with a third Test half-century but became one of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's five victims, the third time he has claimed such a haul against England and the ninth of his career.

Ashley Giles and Caddick added some valuable lower order runs as well, although once their ninth-wicket stand was finished by Anil Kumble having the former caught at slip for 31, Harbhajan finished things off by trapping Matthew Hoggard lbw first ball.