Andrew Strauss hit the highest score by an England captain in World Cup history to upstage Sachin Tendulkar's 47th One-day International hundred, and help earn his side a dramatic tie with India in a record-breaking run feast yesterday.
Strauss, the England captain, led from the front with 18 fours and one six in 158 from 145 balls, as England, replying to India's 338 all out in 49.5 overs, were restricted to the same score for eight wickets from their 50 overs in the Group B match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Graeme Swann formalised the tie, when he stroked a delivery from Munaf Patel to mid-off and ran a single to bring to a close a tense match that featured a World Cup record of 676 runs.
The result leaves the two teams level on three points at the top of the Group B table
Tendulkar had continued to defy age and history, when he stroked a majestic 120 to lead the Indian batting. Left-hander Yuvraj Singh supported with 58 from 50 balls, and Gautam Gambhir stroked 51 from 61 deliveries.
Tim Bresnan was the pick of the England bowlers with an ODI career-best five wickets for 48 runs from his allotment of 10 overs.
Zaheer Khan then transformed the complexion of match that looked set to swing England's way with an incisive spell of left-arm fast-medium bowling.
After England chose to take the Batting Power Play from the 43rd over, Zaheer had Ian Bell caught at mid-off for 69 from 71 balls, Strauss lbw next delivery, and Paul Collingwood bowled for one in the space of six balls to drag India back into the match.
England also lost Matt Prior caught at mid-wicket off Harbhajan Singh for four before the Power Play came to an end, with 34 needed from the last three overs with four wickets in hand.
Michael Yardy was caught at short fine leg off Patel for 13 with 32 needed from 15 balls, but Swann and Bresnan eased the pressure with one six apiece in the penultimate over, bowled by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
England needed 14 from the last over, bowled by Patel, and a straight six from Ahmed Shahzad off the third ball brought them right to the brink.
The nail-biting match went down to the last ball, with England two for victory, but Swann failed to be the hero.
Khan was India's most successful bowler with three for 64 from 10 overs; Patel and Chawla captured two wickets apiece.
Earlier, Tendulkar looked like he had sewn the game up for the Indians, when his 115-ball innings that included 10 fours and five sixes.
The little master batsmen added 134 for the second wicket with Gambhir, and put on 56 for the third wicket with Yuvraj before he was caught off a leading edge at extra cover off Jimmy Anderson in the 39th over.
Dhoni arrived and added 69 for the fourth wicket in quick time with Yuvraj before Bresnan scalped him, along with Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, and Harbhajan in a stirring comeback spell before two run-outs meant lights-out for India.
England next face British neighbours Ireland on Wednesday at this venue, where India will meet the same opponents next Sunday in their next fixture.
The World Cup continues today, when Canada play Zimbabwe at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur in a daytime match, and West Indies tackle Netherlands at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi.