MOHALI: In-form Gautam Gambhir cracked his third century in four matches and Rahul Dravid marked his return to form as India recoverd from a shaky start to put themselves on course for a huge first innings total in the second cricket Test against England here on Friday.

Gambhir (106 not out) traded belligerence for maturity while born-again Dravid (65 not out) exorcised the demons to star in a bailout act as India reached a comfortable 179 for one at close on a truncated opening day.

Virender Sehwag's scoreless exit in only the second over of the day denied India a flying start they are so used to these days.

To their credit, Gambhir and Dravid gamely hung on and eventually stitched together an unbeaten 173-run stand that not only pre-empted the fear of a batting collapse but also propped up the hosts on a chilly, gloomy day.

Gambhir, who took the cudgel on himself to guide India to safety after Sehwags early dismissal, remained not out on 106 off 229 balls, a knock garnished with 12 fours and a huge six off Graeme Swann.

This was his third century in four matches, underlining the magical year he had. Dravid, on his part, finally got a huge monkey off his back with an unbeaten 205-ball 65 that included seven fours and spoke volume of his grit and gumption.

Only 72 overs could be bowled on Friday before bad light dropped early curtains on the proceedings 45 minutes before scheduled close.

After poor light delayed the start of the match by 20 minutes, a laden sky and a gushing wind made it pretty much home conditions for the visitors and M S Dhoni's decision to bat first looked doomed as India saw Sehwag back in the hut with the scoreboard reading just six.