Andrew Strauss enjoyed a welcome return to form with 96 before England lost two late wickets to surrender their advantage on the opening day of the first Test against India.
The home side's batsmen looked to be continuing on from where they left off against West Indies earlier this summer, reaching 252-2 at one stage at Lord’s, the host had later ended with 268-4 with Pietersen not out on 34 and nightwatchman Sidebottom on 0 .
Debutant Chris Tremlett, selected to replace the injured Matthew Hoggard ahead of Stuart Broad, got his first taste of Test action in the pavilion as England's bowling attack, boasting just 37 caps between them, watched the runs flow.
Vaughan had little hesitation in deciding to bat first after winning his fifth successive toss and his decision paid off immediately with an opening stand of 76.
India's seam trio of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan and RP Singh served up plenty of loose stuff to allow Strauss and partner Alistair Cook to get off to a flying start. The pair scored at nearly a run-a-ball rate in the opening hour with the first 50 runs coming in just 51 deliveries.
Surprisingly it was Sourav Ganguly's part-time medium pace that saw the first breakthrough, Cook playing across his front pad to be trapped leg before for 36 and become only the fourth Test victim in the last six years for India's ex-captain.
That breakthrough was only a temporary success for the visitors though, and they didn't strike again until well after tea. Strauss was the man to depart just four short of his first Test century in 11 months, although by then he had done enough to show why the selectors had stuck by him during lean times.
Making the most of a lucky escape on 43 when Dinesh Karthik dropped a simple catch at backward point, the Middlesex left-hander marched towards a ton on his home ground as he and Vaughan put on 142. But, looking to strike the boundary he needed to reach three figures for the first time since the third Test against Pakistan last summer, Strauss edged Anil Kumble through to Rahul Dravid at first slip.
His departure was followed by two breaks for bad light, the second of which worked in India's favour as they picked up two crucial scalps in nine balls. Vaughan was the first to go when he edged RP Singh to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps, a rare error ending his 201-ball innings that had seen him strike 11 fours.
Collingwood followed in the next over when a googly from Kumble - easily the pick of the tourists' bowlers - trapped him lbw without troubling the scorers. Kevin Pietersen nearly became the third batsmen to depart in quick succession but he got a stroke of luck when a thick inside edge just missed his leg stump.
He was unbeaten on 34 not out when three successive play-and-misses by nightwatchman Ryan Sidebottom led to umpires Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel offering the light for a third and final time.
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