But for most part of the day India produced a bland performance before staging a comeback with some quick wickets in the last session.
After winning the toss, England skipper Michael Vaughan made the bold but right decision to bat first and the home side were 268 for four at stumps on the first day when the umpires decided to call off the proceedings early due to bad light. In the post tea session well over an hour was lost due to bad light in the span of two stoppages.
But in the available time, Indian bowlers made amends of sorts, dismissing Vaughan and Paul Collingwood – trapped in front by Anil Kumble – to provide their team a ray of hope.
Earlier, England openers – Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook – vindicated their captain's decision with a show of aggressive batting. Cook was severe in particular; the tall opener started dismantling the Indian bowlers – perhaps a deliberate ploy to seize the momentum – in the second over itself, turning paceman S Sreesanth off his pads twice to the ropes.
Dilemma
The approach put Sreesanth in a dilemma as to where to bowl to the two left-handed openers and it was – in the mildest of terms – a disappointing show from a bowler on whom the team management had placed a lot of faith.
His partner Zaheer Khan too was not impressive either. The left-arm pacer did manage to swing the ball occasionally, but that was not enough to test either Strauss or Cook, who looked set for another big score after his two hundreds against the West Indies last month. The introduction of Anil Kumble also failed to curb the English scoring as by the time the veteran leg-spinner came into attack, the pitch was settled down.          
The English openers scored at a breakneck pace, forcing Indian skipper Rahul Dravid to bring in Sourav Ganguly into attack early in the innings. Ganguly displayed his well documented ability to break the partnerships in his very first over, removing Cook.
Ganguly ruffled Cook's pad and umpire Steve Bucknor confirmed the appeal to evoke an animated celebration from the Kolkatan. Cook added 76 runs for the opening wicket with Strauss in a little less than 15 overs that knocked the stuffing out of the Indian attack.
The dismissal of Cook slowed down the scoring rate, but Strauss looked all the more assured in the middle. The southpaw was undergoing a lean patch of late that had threatened his place in the side, but the Middlesex batsman played a solid innings to announce his return to the form.
The only black mark in his innings was when he offered a chance at 43. Strauss' uppish drive off Sreesanth was spilled at point by Dinesh Kaarthick. The left-hander went on to make 96 before edging Kumble to Dravid at slip.
Strauss found an equally confident ally in his captain Vaughan and they milked 142 runs for the second wicket. The right-hander made a gritty hundred against the West Indies last month coming back straight out of a rehabilitation process after a knee surgery.
The Yorkshire batsman too went on to make a chanceless fifty, his overall 15th and third against India in Test cricket. He was also helped during his course of innings by the below par approach of the Indian bowlers.
Flattered to deceive
The only time they had looked to shackle the English batsmen was in the post lunch session. They bowled with lot of purpose and it took 17 balls for Vaughan to add to his pre-lunch total of 22, but they only flattered to deceive as the bowlers soon slipped into their lackadaisical mood. Admittedly, the pitch did not offer the desired amount of assistance to the Indian bowlers in the later part, but they never appeared trying to create an opportunity and they were rather content to wait for the English batsmen to commit the mistake. However, the hosts' batsmen were in mood to squander the chance and gained the upperhand despite India's late strikes.

SCORE BOARD
ENGLAND (I Innings):
Strauss c Dravid b Kumble 96
(256m, 186b, 16x4)
Cook lbw Ganguly 36
(67m, 39b, 6x4)
Vaughan c Dhoni b RP Singh 79
(247m, 201b, 11x4)
Pietersen (batting) 34
(68m, 51b, 5x4)
Collingwood lbw Kumble 0
(4m, 3b)
Sidebottom (batting) 0
(11m, 5b)
Extras (B-9, LB-6, W-6, NB-2) 23
Total (for 4 wickets, 80.3 overs) 268
Fall of wickets: 1-76 (Cook), 2-218 (Strauss), 3-252 (Vaughan), 4-255(Collingwood).
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 14-3-55-0 (w-1, nb-2), Sreesanth 18-7-56-0 (w-2), Rudra Pratap Singh 15.3-5-54-1 (w-2), Sourav Ganguly 9-3-24-1, Anil Kumble 22-2-56-2, Sachin Tendulkr 2-0-8-0.