Tour match, Chelmsford, day three of four
India 516 & 231-2 v Essex 279
Harbhajan Singh bamboozled Essex with a brilliant display of off-spin, claiming seven wickets as India continued to enjoy their practice match before the second Test.
Harbhajan took 7-83 as Essex collapsed from 164-2 to 279 all out.
Virender Sehwag then scored a century as India's Test preparations went to plan.
Singh took two wickets on Thursday, and soon added the prize scalp of Andy Flower when the Zimbabwean edged to Sourav Ganguly.
Essex captain Ronnie Irani was caught behind the wicket for 20 and Jon Dakin did not last long against Harbhajan.
The "Turbanator" then trapped Barry Hyam and James Middlebrook lbw to complete his seven wicket haul, but Ganguly chose not to enforce the follow-on.
India suffered their only set-back of the day when the experiment of promoting Parthiv Patel to opener backfired with the 17-year-old making just one run.
Sanjay Bangar and Sehwag restored normal service with a second-wicket stand of 216.
Andrew Flintoff will be named in the England squad for the third Test against India but his participation is still doubtful.
Flintoff has been diagnosed with a hernia and will need an operation to alleviate the groin injury that has plagued him this summer.
But the timing of the operation - which will keep him out of action for four weeks - will depend on whether he can play in the Headingley Test.
He could also miss the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September.
The 24-year-old will be assessed during England's practice days ahead of the Thursday start.
He saw a specialist on Thursday, who confirmed an operation would be needed.
"I have been struggling with a groin injury for a while and need an operation at some stage," Flintoff said.
"But hopefully I should be able to get through the Headingley Test.
"I'll meet up with the England team as usual and see how it goes during the warm-up.
Sussex pace bowler James Kirtley has been named as Darren Gough's replacement in England's ICC Champions Trophy squad for Sri Lanka in September.
Kirtley, who has seven one-day international caps, played four times in this summer's NatWest Series before breaking his hand half-way through the tournament.
But after making a successful comeback on 7 August in a Norwich Union League match against Surrey, he has proved his fitness.
Chairman of Selectors David Graveney said: "James was unfortunate to miss out on the remainder of the NatWest Series.
"But he now has a further opportunity to press his claims for a regular place in the squad ahead of the one-day series in Australia and the World Cup.
"James has good pace, can bowl well at the death in one-day cricket and is an excellent all-round fielder.
"We feel that he can only improve still further by going to Sri Lanka and gaining experience of conditions on the sub-continent."
"it's not often you get three chances to have a go at it, so I'm keen to make the most of the opportunity given to me," Kirtley said.
Yorkshire chairman Geoff Cope said he does not think Headingley is in any danger of losing its status as a Test venue.
Just more than half the tickets for the first day of the third Test against India, which starts on Thursday, have been sold.
The poor sales have prompted the England and Wales Cricket Board to order a meeting with Yorkshire chiefs on Friday to enquire as to why there will be so many empty seats.
But Cope said he remained convinced Headingley was the best venue outside London for Test cricket.
"The record at Headingley over the years has been good. I think we are second to London," he said.
"We are not worried that Test status will be removed. We want Test matches and the England team consider this to be very much home for them.
"We have £11m ground redevelopments which we are pressing ahead with, and they are very much geared with Test cricket in mind."