LONDON, July 29: England wrapped up the first Test against India 50 minutes after lunch at Lord’s Monday, winning the first game of the four-match series by 170 runs.

Craig White captured the final wicket after some resolute India batting when Ashish Nehra prodded a full-pitched delivery to Graham Thorpe at slip.

India, who had begun the final day at 232 for six chasing 568 to win, were finally dismissed for 397, which was the second highest second innings total ever by a losing team.

England were denied an earlier finish by a composed maiden Test century from all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, who prior to the match had a highest score of 41 and an average of 7.81.

Agarkar, a batsman several classes superior than his average would suggest, hit 16 fours in his unbeaten 109 from 190 balls.

He also shared a record India last-wicket partnership against England of 63 with Nehra. Nehra brought up the 50 partnership by smacking Andy Flintoff for six over mid-wicket and reached his highest Test score of 19 before he was dismissed.

India extended the game into the afternoon session through resolute batting from Vangipurappu Laxman and Agarkar. Laxman added an attractive 74 to his unbeaten first innings of 43, adding 126 for the seventh wicket with Agarkar.

Laxman, 38 not out overnight, played the England pacemen fluently off the back foot before he was out caught at cover by Michael Vaughan off the bowling of Simon Jones. He had stroked nine fours from 183 deliveries.

Anil Kumble scored a somewhat streaky 15 before departing caught and bowled by Matthew Hoggard off a leading edge and Zaheer Khan was caught behind off White for seven.

Hoggard was the most successful of the England bowlers, finishing with four for 87 for the innings and seven for 120 for the match.

Bowling with controlled hostility from the Pavilion End on Sunday, he extinguished any faint hopes India might have had of saving the match by dismissing Sachin Tendulkar and captain Saurav Ganguly off successive balls.

The result was a triumph for England captain and Man-of-the-Match Nasser Hussain.

Hussain came to the crease in the second over on Thursday, was still there at the close after scoring 120 and added 35 further runs on Friday before he was finally dismissed.

His highest score as England captain laid the foundations for a first innings total of 487 which put the game beyond India.

Then, after an indifferent start on Friday evening, Hussain cajoled his bowlers into as disciplined a display as any since Graham Gooch briefly instilled his own work ethic into the national team at the start of the 1990s.

Without their first choice opening bowlers Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick, or Surrey’s Alex Tudor, a relatively untried pace quartet bowled with purpose and control to first restrict India, then send them tumbling to a miserable 221 all out.

Although Hoggard returned the best figures in India’s first innings, the two to catch the eye were debutant Jones and the new slimline Flintoff.