By Oliver Brett

Although neither was involved in the enthralling finish, Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss provided two of the most exquisite centuries seen in World Cups when India and England played out their tied match in Bangalore on Sunday.

Tendulkar (120 from 115 balls) started slower than Strauss (158 from 145 balls) before accelerating dramatically in the second half of his innings

With the help of the "wagon wheels" provided here, showing each player's scoring areas - and a graph comparing their rate of scoring - their innings can be analysed more closely.

Tendulkar's was his 47th one-day century, but only his second against England, and he began steadily as he crafted an imposing target for India's opponents.

With his partner, Virender Sehwag, burning a trail at the other end, the 37-year-old waited patiently until the ninth over, soon after the departure of Sehwag, to hit his first two boundaries.

He got them off consecutive balls, identifying one of his favoured areas behind square on the leg-side for neat deflections.

From that point on, he picked up the pace of his scoring, dominating the big partnership for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir.

TENDULKAR wagon wheel: No fours at all in front of the wicket on the leg side from the Indian master, but there are four sixes in the same arc

Two sixes cames off Paul Collingwood, the first an eased, lofted straight drive, the second smashed with similar elegance over midwicket. And there were three sixes off Graeme Swann: two over long-on, the other a slog sweep over deep mid-wicket.

As the Tendulkar wagon wheel shows, none of his 10 fours were hit in front of square on the leg-side, partly because Strauss ensured he often had two people posted on the ropes in that region.

But the other regions are all studded with fours, as England's bowling force - in theory strengthened by the addition of Michael Yardy - was run ragged.

When England began their chase of a monstrous-looking target of 339, Strauss was quick out of the blocks because his team simply could not afford to get behind the asking rate of almost seven runs an over.

A leg-glance and a booming square cut gave him two of the 18 fours he would accumulate in all in the very first over of the chase, and he was off and away.

STRAUSS wagon wheel: The England captain's preference for square-of-the wicket hitting is demonstrated while his huge six came off Yuvraj Singh

While Tendulkar's rate of scoring accelerated sharply from a steady base, Strauss cruised along at something close to a run a ball throughout the innings, taking in the rapid opening stand with Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott's brief stay at the crease and the really big partnership of the innings with Ian Bell.

Not traditionally someone who plays attacking shots down the ground, he stuck to the areas he knows best - square of the wicket and behind square - with only four scoring shots, each gaining him a single, coming in the mid-off region.

It was only when Bell, who defied his critics with some lusty blows of his own, cramped up in the latter stages of the chase that Strauss's smooth rhythm was also stifled, and the two men fell off consecutive balls.

Statistically, the Strauss innings was superior to Tendulkar's, both in terms of runs scored (158 to 120) and strike rate (108.96 runs per 100 balls to 104.34).

In truth however, it would be curmudgeonly to say the England captain produced the better innings. In keeping with the result of the match, let's call it a tie.

England earn last-ball tie against India

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