Leeds: England captain Nasser Hussain's 12th Test hundred could not prevent his side going down to defeat by an innings and 46 runs against India on the final day of the third Test on Monday.

The result meant India, which piled up 628 for eight declared - its highest total against England and best overseas - levelled the four-match series at one apiece.

Anil Kumble's dismissal of England captain Nasser Hussain for 110 sparked a collapse that saw the home side lose three wickets in 10 balls for two runs on the final day of the match. In all England lost its last six wickets for 44 runs, leg-spinner Anil Kumble taking four for 66.

Hussain and Alec Stewart had held up India on Sunday and their 46-over stand yielded 117 runs.

But the skipper's exit opened the door for India and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff completed a pair when he edged the lively Zaheer Khan through to Rahul Dravid. England's hopes of saving the match expired completely when Stewart, the last of the recognised batsmen, edged Kumble through to Dravid for 47.

England was now 267 for seven, still 88 runs short of making India bat again. And England added to its misery when Ashley Giles (10) was run out after a mix-up with Alex Tudor, the home side subsiding to 299 for eight.

Tudor then went for 21, caught at short leg by Virender Sehwag against off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. India then finished the match before lunch when Andrew Caddick (three) was caught in the gully by India captain Saurav Ganguly. Matthew Hoggard was one not out and England was all out for 309.

It was India's batsmen who provided the platform for victory after Ganguly won the toss and decided to make first use of the pitch. India's total of 628 for eight declared was its highest against England and its largest overseas.

India's haul featured centuries from its three senior batsmen with Sachin Tendulkar weighing in with a dominant 193 and left-hander Ganguly a dashing 128.

However, it was Dravid's 148, made mainly on the first day when the overcast conditions proved ideal for swing bowling, that crucially laid a solid foundation upon which Tendulkar and Ganguly could build.

India will now head to The Oval for the fourth and final Test, which starts on September 5, with a chance to claim its first Test series outside the sub-continent in 16 years - when it beat England 2-1.

Man-of-the-match: Rahul Dravid