Chennai: An inexplicable batting collapse left India in tatters on the second day of the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

After allowing England to progress to 316, the Indian top-order was guilty of some poor shot selection that left them struggling at 156 for six at close.

Graeme Swann started the slide with a dream spell that included two wickets in his first over in Test cricket, but three more strikes in the final hour helped England wrest control. Mahendra Singh Dhoni survived the session and with Harbhajan Singh, has a tough task in hand.

The wicket is already showing signs of decay — some balls are jumping while others are threatening to keep low — and a big first innings deficit could prove to be disastrous for Dhoni and his men.

India were reduced to 37 for three at tea, and just when it seemed Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman had managed to arrest the slide with a 61-run fourth wicket stand, another flurry of wickets stunned the crowd into silence.

Dhoni is bound to feel the pressure, and however ironic it may sound, Sourav Ganguly’s absence is already being felt. The confidence and experience the former India captain used to bring to the crease, the ability to excel in tough situations and shoulder responsibility, and the awe his presence used to inspire among the opposition were missing.

Rahul Dravid’s run of poor scores continued and birthday boy Yuvraj Singh once again failed to match his one-day success.

Were the Indians complacent? Dhoni did not agree but there must have been shades of self-satisfaction unknowingly creeping into their minds. Especially after blanking Australia in Tests and England in the one-dayers in the lead-up to the RBS Cup!

How else would you explain Harbhajan Singh’s comments that England were too defensive and didn’t have spinners worthy of making a breakthrough on the first day? Perhaps India needed this jolt for the return of some sanity in the minds of quite a few players.

This is not to take away any credit from the visitors. They bowled with zeal and purpose and tried to unnerve the Indians with some short-pitched stuff. All three pacers — Steve Harmison, James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff — didn’t waste the new ball and showed discipline and penetration.

Flintoff didn’t waste an opportunity to fire verbal volleys at Yuvraj after one snorter had brushed past his helmet. The lefthander had a word with Pietersen, but departed in the very next over nicking to Flintoff at second slip off Harmison.

“I don’t think it was just the chit chat that got him out. It was simply bad shot selection,” the Indian captain said.

The 29-year-old Swann struck as soon as he was brought on for the last over before tea. He trapped Gautam Gambhir leg before with his third delivery after having an appeal for a catch at short leg turned down by umpire Daryl Harper.

The off-spinner earned another leg before verdict on the final delivery to remove Dravid to emulate Richard Johnson’s feat of two first over wickets on debut against Zimbabwe in 2003.

As Dravid’s poor form extended, one couldn’t help but wonder if any other player would have enjoyed the leeway in similar circumstances. Woefully short on confidence, he is only adding to his mental pressure by the continuous string of poor scores.

Sachin and Laxman looked in total control thereafter. They were middling the ball well and took the attack to the opposition. The spinners were milked dry with some intelligent use of the feet and just when it seemed that the crisis was averted, Monty Panesar struck.

Laxman (24) chipped one back to the left-arm spinner and Sachin (37) followed, falling victim to Flintoff’s first delivery that had stopped and come to the batsman.

It was not just the batting that had gone wrong in a woeful day for the Indians. They allowed England to get away after dismissing danger man Flintoff without addition to the overnight total.

Amit Mishra and Harbhajan did most of the damage, finishing with three wickets apiece. However, Matt Prior’s unbeaten 53 meant the lower order didn’t fold up easily. James Anderson hung around for an hour and a half after being dropped early on by Dravid — a regulation chance at first slip. Perhaps another example of Dravid’s dipping self-confidence.