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Not even a cloudy and cool evening could dampen the enthusiasm of the 20,000-strong crowd, which included plenty of flag-waving India supporters as well as the locals of Hampshire looking for a lift after their county's Friends Provident Trophy final defeat at the weekend.

Flintoff was not even needed to bat as Cook and Bell became the first pair of England batsmen to hit centuries in the same ODI since .

Cook and Bell's places in the one-day side had both been questioned by some before the game, especially when both were preferred to the more adventurous Owais Shah at the top of the order.

But Cook more than doubled his previous best ODI score of 41, and reached three figures in the 40th over of the innings - earning a standing ovation, followed by another when he was yorked by RP Singh two overs later.

Bell was a little more carefree than his partner, outscored Cook during their second-wicket stand of 178, reached his century off exactly 100 balls and batted through the rest of the innings to finish with 126.

While other countries continue to concentrate on attack rather than defence in the opening overs, England's initially pedestrian pace, reminiscent of the World Cup, seemed to be a hangover from the era.

However, the run rate steadily rose, with the occasional boundary to excite the crowd - and if the game plan was to reach the last 20 overs with plenty of wickets in hand, then it worked.

There was a sense of anticipation around Southampton at the interval - albeit tempered with the knowledge of the huge ODI experience of India's batting line-up, well used to chasing targets under lights. Would 288 be enough?

Opening pair Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar came into the match averaging nearly 50 as a partnership, but they managed just 15 as a run-out by the unlikely Monty Panesar saw off Ganguly.

James Anderson then found Gautham Gambhir's outside edge for his 100th ODI wicket - and after an amusing interlude involving a group of girls in bikinis being chased around the stands by stewards, Anderson's 101st and 102nd followed in quick succession as he removed Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh.

Flintoff began the game at second slip, but India were already reeling at 35-4 after 12 overs when he was introduced into the attack, and he was soon charging in at nearly 90mph.

A total of five no-balls from his seven overs was a mild concern, but a great diving stop in his second over showed no sign of any reaction to the ankle problem.

The England line-up contained several players with differing claims to all-rounder status - certainly Collingwood and , while bowling and Stuart Broad's batting may yet earn them that tag in the future.

But Flintoff remains the only England player who fits the strict all-rounder criteria as someone who could earn his place via either batting or bowling alone - and thus is vital to the balance of the side.

The Lancastrian also had Mahendra Dhoni - who had positively crawled by his own high standards to score just 19 off 60 balls, in a torrid stand with Dravid - caught behind to complete a successful comeback.

As well as Anderson's 4-23, coach Peter Moores would also have been encouraged by Mascarenhas (1-28), who bowled tightly in the middle overs on his home ground and was eventually rewarded with the prize wicket of Dravid, his first ODI scalp.

Bopara, one of the finds of the World Cup, also undoubtedly improves England in the field, despite not being required to bat or bowl on this occasion.

India were also capable of self-inflicted wounds, as two more run-outs - including the farcical scenes when Dinesh Karthik and Piyush Chawla ended up at the same end - accelerated their downfall, while many spectators also took the opportunity to beat an early retreat to avoid the traffic.

Make no mistake, it was a great night for England - but can they keep it going?