This ton better than the one against Oz: Gambhir

Last time he scored a century here, India beat world champions Australia but considering the circumstances, Gautam Gambhir ranks todays century against England higher than the one he scored against Ricky Pontings men in October.

"This is a special century because the ball was doing quite a bit in the morning and we were six for one at that stage," said the Delhi batsman, who remained unbeaten on 106 after the opening day's play in the second Test against England.

A gifted strokeplayer, Gambhir proved he has a mature head over his shoulders as the 27-year-old batsman curbed his natural game and joined hands with Rahul Dravid to steady the ship after Sehwag's early exit.

"It was special because England came hard on us. Trailing the series 1-0, they had nothing to lose here. Against Australia, I did get a century in the second innings and we won but the century today is crucial because of the conditions," said Gambhir who slammed 104 against Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here in October.

"After we won the Chennai Test, their morale was really low, especially coming after their 5-0 defeat in the ODI series. We knew they would come hard against us here because its there last chance to level the series. But I think we have done a good job and need to capitalise on it tomorrow," he said.

On the ongoing Test, Gambhir said the team would stay focus and positive to ensure their second win in the series.

"We should have a positive mindset. We are 1-0 up in the series but that should not lead to a defensive mindset. The next four days, we need to think how we can win the match and nothing else. We need to win and become the number two ranked team in the world," he said.

During his innings, Gambhir was particularly harsh on England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar but the batsman said the England player didn't bowl too badly. Rather, he said, the Indian batsmen had devised the way to counter the spinner.

"I think he bowled pretty well but our batsmen handled him well too. Its never easy for a spinner to succeed against India. In Chennai, we negotiated him well and that gave us the confidence here," he said.

Asked if replacing Steve Harmison with Stuart Broad took some sting out of the English attack, Gambhir felt otherwise.

"I think Broad bowled really well and hit the good areas. Remember, he is the lone wicket taker of the day. He had done well in the ODI series also and we knew once he is fit (from a hamstring injury), he would be back in the side," Gambhir said.

Gambhir, Dravid grind England on Day 1

Under the poor light conditions in Mohali, India batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid combined for the second wicket and had an unbeaten 173-run stand to take India's score to 179/1 at the close of first day's play at the PCA Stadium. A delayed start and early close saw the loss of 18 overs as 72 overs were bowled out of the required 90 overs.

Electing to bat first, India got early blow in the form of opener Virender Sehwag's wicket. The Indian opener, who was the architect of India's epic win in Chennai, failed to give India a good start and departed for a naught.

England pacer Stuart Broad, who came in place of Steve Harmison, pitched one outside the off-stump. Sehwag played it on the drive but an outside edge saw keeper Matt Prior take a comfortable catch behind the wicket.

Sehwag's dismissal saw an out-of-form Rahul Dravid in action in the third over. India's no. 3 batsman, who's had a dismal run this year, looked a bit shaky in the beginning. But he slowly gained ground and took a sigh of relief with a composed half-century that was his first in the last nine innings.

Dravid, who averages 28 this year in comparison to his career average of 52, gave a much needed boost to his average and most importantly his confidence when he struck 54th Test fifty, his ninth against England.

In-form Indian opener Gambhir, however, continued with his purple catch and slammed the fourth Test hundred, his first against England. This was also his second consecutive century at the PCA Stadium. He had made 104 runs against Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

England: Kevin Pietersen (Captain), Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.