India got a breather as play was halted because of bad light initially and then rain forced play to be abandoned on day 2 of the first Test against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
The visitors were in a spot of bother, having suffered a mini collapse, to find themselves at 125/4 when the umpires called off play due to bad light. Opener K.L. Rahul was batting on 57, with Rishabh Pant on 7. Though play was resumed twice, it had to be called off almost immediately due to further rain.
India, who were 97 for one at lunch, lost three quick wickets including the important one of Virat Kohli, who was caught behind off James Anderson on the first ball he faced.
With dark clouds hovering over a packed Trent Bridge, Anderson did what he does best - attack the off-stump channel and induce the outside edge. He was able to do that in successive balls, sending back Cheteshwar Pujara (4 off 16) before winning the opening battle against skipper Virat Kohli.
Pujara never looked comfortable in the middle and on one occasion offered a no shot to a straight delivery from Ollie Robinson but the DRS saved him.
Anderson eventually had him caught behind and the very next ball he removed Kohli with a beauty that was pitched up in the off-stump corridor and held its line to take the outside edge.
Ajinkya Rahane's run out following a mix-up with Rahul over a quick single added to India's mini collapse, leaving the game evenly balanced.
India would have been in deeper trouble had Dom Sibley not dropped Rahul in the slips of Anderson in the 45th over.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma looked solid in defence under overcast skies before indulging in his favourite pull-shot to get out at the stroke of lunch. Sharma and K.L. Rahul did well enough to keep the four-pronged home team attack at bay but Rohit's attempt to dispatch Ollie Robinson's short ball behind the square leg boundary didn't quite work out as he threw it away after doing all the hard work. Rohit and Rahul are India's 10th opening combination since 2018.
They patiently waited for the loose deliveries and played some delightful drives, keeping the scoreboard ticking, with Rahul blending his caution and aggression in equal measure.
Their gameplan was simple and that was to see off the first hour with minimum risks. Rohit, in particular, showed his technical prowess getting right behind the moving deliveries. He was ready to play the waiting game, something that's not exactly his characteristic, showing how badly he wants to get a significant score in overseas conditions.
But when the opportunity presented itself, he did show Ollie Robinson (1/19 in 11.3 overs) as to why he is rated so highly amongst his peers with a superb bowler's back-drive and when required opened his bat face to glide it between point and gully or flick one off his hips.
Rahul's inside-out off-drive to an inswinger from Sam Curran was no less delightful.
Rahul, who came into the match with runs behind his back, was on 11 in his first 60 balls but then hit some exquisite square and cover drives when the ball stopped moving around after 30-over mark.
He understood that he had the game to accelerate and did just that during the last 45 minutes.
While they were cautious but at no point did they lose out on scoring chances with Rohit (six fours) and Rahul (eight fours) sharing the spoils. The intent to keep the scoreboard moving was always there with those tap and run singles.
Once Sam Curran came into bowl, the lack of express pace helped them as both lunged forward with pronounced front-press to beat the off-side cordon.
Rain is expected later in the day.
(With PTI inputs)
