The clouds that hung over the Rose Bowl suggested rain at any moment. But the elements showed enough mercy, allowing the first one-dayer between India and England to begin on time. The overcast conditions perhaps prompted Indian skipper Rahul Dravid to bowl first, anticipating the kind of swing his bowlers had purchased on the first day of the Trent Bridge Test.
His bowlers did not exactly manage to replicate that performance as England batsmen cashed in on a largely slack display in the middle overs to rack up 288 for two in 50 overs.

Perfect occasion
Alastair Cook and Ian Bell had not even crossed 90 in their one-day career so far, but they selected the perfect occasion to register their respective maiden limited-overs hundreds as India found themselves up against the wall. Incidentally, Cook's maiden Test hundred too came against India well over a year ago in Nagpur.
Cook and Bell realised 178 runs during an entertaining second-wicket partnership that knocked the stuffing out of India on Tuesday.
A relatively flat pitch and the stubborn approach of openers Cook and Matt Prior did not allow the Indian bowlers to dictate terms like they have done on this tour so often. In that scenario, they could not do anything spectacular, forced to adopt orthodox ways of varying pace and waiting for the batsmen to commit mistake.

Zaheer strikes
The approach paid dividends soon as Prior mistimed a chip off Zaheer Khan, who dished out a lively opening spell, straight into the hands of Dravid at mid-on. It also a moment of victory for the left-arm pacer, who exchanged a few words -- that could not exactly have been complimentary in nature -- after Prior hoisted him for a six over the bowler's head.
Rudra Pratap Singh also bowled at a good pace, but there was not enough in the pitch for him to exploit and the ball too did not swing as much as he would have liked.
But after that, Cook and Bell forged a solid partnership for the second wicket that was dominated by the latter. It also helped England break India's hold in the middle overs where the hosts' batsmen scored steadily.
The first indications of the domination came when Cook and Bell added 48 through the second and third Power Plays without any damage. Cook batted beautifully en route to his hundred before he dragged a delivery from RP Singh onto his stumps, and his batting on the day was all about timing and placing.
There were not too many boundaries in his innings, but Cook negated his inability to play big shots with clever placements and the efficiency with which he discovered gaps on the field was superb.
His strategy kept the England scoreboard always in motion, piling up pressure on the visitors' bowlers.
That he has got an aggressive and confident partner in Bell at the other end also made his job that much easier. Bell's batting was in direct contrast to Cook's approach.
He made his intentions clear right from the word go when he punched RP Singh through the covers for four.

Pacers nullified
Bell first nullified the effect of Indian pacers with a fine mixture of resolute defence and canny stroke play. Ajit Agarkar, who started off well, began to err in line as the innings went on as he struggled to pitch the ball in the right areas, and had to cop a bit of stick from the English duo. 
Blessed with nimble feet, Bell was equally good against the spinners. Dravid introduced Piyush Chawla with the hope of putting an end to the swelling partnership, but Bell thwarted his ambitions while tackling the young leg-spinner in brilliant fashion. He lofted the Uttar Pradesh bowler to the sightscreen to signal his ease.
The cavalier methods of Bell saw England's run rate sail past the five-run per over mark in the middle overs, setting the stage for their slog-over flourish.
Dravid's strategy of giving the ball to Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – his trusted partnership breakers – too did not work as the England batsmen marched merrily along towards a huge total.

ENGLAND STRIKE EARLY
India in trouble chasing big total
Southampton, Agencies: India suffered early blows and were reeling at 56 for four at the end of 20th over. Skipper Rahul Dravid (15) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (4) were at the crease. Sourav Ganguly was the first to go, run out for two in the third over of India’s chase. Gautam Gambhir followed him soon before Sachin Tendulkar flicked James Anderson straight to Ravi Bopara. Yuvraj Singh lasted just four balls before falling to Anderson.

Score board

ENGLAND
Cook b RP Singh 102
(126b, 8x4)
Prior c Dravid b Zaheer 19
(31b, 1x6)
Bell (not out) 126
(119b, 10x4)
Pietersen (not out) 33
(25b, 3x4)
Extras (LB-4, W-4) 8
Total (for 2 wkts, 50 overs) 288
Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Prior), 2-221 (Cook).
Bowling: Zaheer 10-1-49-1 (w-1), Agarkar 10-1-65-0, RP Singh 10-0-49-1 (w-1), Ganguly 4-0-21-0, Chawla 7-0-42-0, Tendulkar 4-0-29-0 (w-2), Yuvraj Singh 5-0-29-0.
Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 16/0, 10: 40/0, 15: 62/1, 20: 88/1, 25: 108/1, 30: 146/1, 35: 180/1, 40: 210/1, 45: 246/2, end of innings: 288/2 in 50 overs.
Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 40/0, Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 22/1, Power Play 3: 16-20 overs: 26/0.