India 53-2 after Anderson strikes twice at Edgbaston

BIRMINGHAM, England : James Anderson struck twice in the morning session to reduce India to 53 for two before rain forced early lunch on day one of the rescheduled fifth test between the sides at Edgbaston on Friday.

Hanuma Vihari was batting on 14 with Virat Kohli at the other end on one when rain forced the players off the ground.

India are 2-1 up in the series which could not be completed last year following COVID-19 cases in the India camp ahead of the final match at Old Trafford.

After England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field, Shubman Gill looked in good touch as he drove elegantly.

Anderson, who missed the third test against New Zealand with an ankle injury, dismissed the opener for 17, inducing an edge which Zak Crawley collected at second slip.

The same Anderson-Crawley combination went on to remove Cheteshwar Pujara similarly after the batsman had scored 13.

It was an atonement of sorts for Crawley who had dropped Vihari in the previous over from Matthew Potts.

India captain Rohit Sharma missed the match after testing positive for COVID-19 and seamer Jasprit Bumrah has been put in charge.

It also forced the tourists to tweak their opening pair with number three batsman Pujara moving up to partner Gill at the top of the order.