James Anderson dealt India two early blows after Joe Root won the toss and opted to insert the tourists as England take on India in day two of the second Test.
England’s leading Test-match wicket-taker grabbed the wicket of Murali Vijay with a full-pitched away-swinging delivery that castled into the opener’s off-stump after a loose straight-drive, before KL Rahul feathered one behind to Jonny Bairstow.
It was a fine start by England that brought Virat Kohli to the crease earlier than he would have liked, in what will surely be the India skipper’s biggest challenge so far on this tour, with conditions favouring England’s pace battery, which has been beefed up by Chris Woakes in the absence of Ben Stokes.
For India, Cheteshwar Pujara has replaced Shikhar Dhawan, while Kuldeep Yadav has dislodged Umesh Yadav to add a second spin option.
Almost as Kohli arrived at the crease, however, the rain began to fall and the umpires removed the players from the field, with India 11-2.
After taking an early lunch, the two sides returned to the field for a brief stint, which proved ample time for England to run out Pujara, who had a terrible mix-up with Kohli to gift England further momentum before another downpour in London.
Play later resumed after tea, when England’s bowlers continued to take full advantage of the swinging Dukes ball. Follow the action live here.
