Reverse swing is key, agree Gautam Gambhir and James Anderson

The pitch might not have done anything extraordinary, but it was abrasive enough for reverse swing, and James Anderson made the most of it. But, warned, Gautam Gambhir, please remember India have the same weapons too.

"We have got Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma; Zaheer is the master of reverse swing," said Gambhir at the end of the day's play. Anderson himself was magnanimous in his praise for Zaheer. "When we were last in India, I watched Zaheer bowl and was impressed with the way he held the bowl so the batsman could not make out which the shinier side was," said Anderson, adding it was a technique he had picked up then.

He and Steve Finn did "reasonably well with the new ball" in the morning, said Anderson, but used reverse swing as the weapon of attack as the day progressed. "Hiding the shining side makes it difficult for the batsman," agreed Gambhir.

"A total of 350 will see a good contest," felt Gambhir, adding that "it might be in England's favour now, but reverse swing might change all that when we take the field too.

"In every innings two or three batsmen get off to good starts, and then it is their responsibility to make the big scores. I should have gone on after getting into the 60s - Sachin and I should have got the big runs. Still, there are no easy hundreds in Test cricket! At any rate, this is a stage to deliver, not the stage to learn."

On Virender Sehwag's run out when the batsman was just beginning to settle down, Gambhir said, "I didn't think there was a third run there. To run for a throw is always dicey, and it was risky so early in the day. The ball was swinging and Sehwag was striking well."