India's top-order batsmen continued their century-drought in international matches during the tour at the County Ground, Bristol, with Sachin Tendulkar getting out on 99, while Rahul Dravid remained unbeaten on 92. This is only the eighth instance when two batsmen have got nineties in an ODI innings, and the first time two Indian batsmen have posted nineties in the same innings. Here are a few statistical highlights of the match:
* Tendulkar's 99 is the second of his career, and in quick succession too, the earlier one was in the first ODI against South Africa in Belfast. He joins Sanath Jayasuriya as the only batsmen to have been dismissed twice on 99 in ODIs. Tendulkar also tops of list of batsmen being dismissed the highest number of times in the nineties.
* Dravid's 92 came off 63 balls, a strike-rate of 146.03. Dravid's innings was his third-fastest knock of fifty and over, behind his 50 off 22 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 2003, and his 54 from 35 balls against West Indies earlier this year. Dravid's Man-of-the-Match performance was also a far cry from his slow crawl in the second innings at The Oval (Click here to read more on that innings).
* India and Tendulkar extended their great run at Bristol. Tendulkar has previously made hundreds in both the matches India had played at the ground, an unbeaten 140 against Kenya in 1999 and 113 against Sri Lanka in 2002, both resulting in wins for India. Tendulkar has 352 runs from three matches in Bristol, averaging a mammoth 176. Tendulkar had batted at No. 4 in the earlier matches, and both he and Dravid scored centuries in the match against Kenya.
* A score of 300-plus had been posted in Bristol only twice before this game, with India being involved on both occasions. India's 329 for 7 equalled the highest total at the ground, along with India's 329 for 2 against Kenya during the 1999 World Cup. The total is also the second-highest against England, the highest being Pakistan's 353 for 6 in Karachi in 2005.
* The match aggregate of 649 is also the second-highest posted in England. The highest is 651, and involved England and India, during the Natwest Series final in 2002.
* Andrew Flintoff managed to sneak in his first five-for while the runs were being piled. His 5 for 56 is the second most-expensive five-wicket haul for an England bowler after Ashley Giles' 5 for 57, also coming against India, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in 2002. Waqar Younis' 6 for 59 off eight overs against Australia is the most expensive figures for a five-for in England, ahead of Flintoff's effort.
* Tendulkar also became the player with the highest number of appearances in England-India ODIs, a record he previously shared with Anil Kumble. Tendulkar has now played 29 matches against England, ahead of Kumble's 28.
* Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly posted a 113-run stand for the opening wicket, their first century partnership against England.
* Dimitri Mascarenhas kept England in the hunt with his big-hitting, and his five sixes is a record for England-India matches.