Rain in Manchester appeared to come as a shock at Old Trafford on Friday when a stretch of outfield that could not cope with an hour’s downpour forced the abandonment of the second day with England starting to pull away from India. Lancashire faced anger from spectators who had seen the drainage system which enabled the bulk of the playing surface to recover from a heavy shower fail in one ugly, relaid area of the outfield that remained stubbornly unfit for play. It is an embarrassment for Lancashire, who prepared the best pitch of this series only to see the elements expose the inadequacies of the Old Trafford facilities and hold up England’s attempt to move into a winning position.
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Ian Bell reached 42nd Test half-century for England during morning session
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India took the early wickets of Chris Jordan (13), Bell (58) and Moeen Ali (13)
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets and Varun Aaron claimed the third
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Rain stopped play with England 85 ahead during the afternoon session
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Joe Root finished on 48 not out and Jos Buttler is alongside on 22 not out
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India were bowled out for 152 in their first innings after winning the toss
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England and India are tied at 1-1 in best-of-five Test series
On top: @placeholder is unbeaten on 48 for England as they lead India by 85 runs with four wickets in hand