By IANS
London : Rains dramatically came to India's rescue and forced their first Test against England to be abandoned as a draw on the fifth and final day here Monday.
Set to chase 380 for a win, India were staring at an almost certain defeat at 282 for nine wickets in their second innings, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (76 not out) and Sreesanth (4 not out) at the crease, when poor visibility and rains halted England's victory march at Lord's.
England needed just one wicket to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, but the twin-spin attack of captain Michael Vaughan and left-armer Monty Panesar failed to dislodge a cautious Dhoni and Sreesanth.
Umpires Steve Bucknor of the West Indies and Simon Taufel of Australia waited for a long while for the rain to stop. Eventually, they consulted the two captains, Rahul Dravid and Vaughan, before declaring the match abandoned.
England had scored 298 and 282 in their two innings, but they could consider themselves moral victors.
Kevin Pieterson, who scored a fine 37 and 134, was adjudged the Man of the Match.
The second Test starts at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Friday.
India started the day at 137 for three with Dinesh Karthik batting on 56 and Sourav Ganguly on 36.
The slide started soon after the start with Ganguly (40, 65 balls, 6x4s) being trapped leg before the wicket by Ryan Sidebottom. The left-hander possibly thought that the ball would swing away but it came in just a bit to beat his bat.
With the addition of two runs to the total, Karthik (60, 135 balls, 7x4s) drove without fully getting behind the line of a James Anderson delivery and gave a simple catch to Paul Collingwood at second slip.
India had now slipped to 145 for five and the target looked a distant dream under the dark clouds, with V.V.S. Laxman and Dhoni being the last hope.
Laxman and Dhoni started building a partnership with some sensible batting, though the latter looked impetuous at times as he attempted ambitious shots.
They were, however, successful in forging a meaningful stand that gave some hope to the team and millions of fans back home. They were cautious in their approach, but also played shots when opportunity presented itself.
Tremlett finally ended the priceless 86-run partnership when he brought one in sharply to right-handed Laxman and castled him neck and crop.
With Laxman's exit, it seemed all lost for India. But Dhoni, who is known for his big hitting prowess, curbed his penchant and played responsibly and cautiously.
Anil Kumble (3), Zaheer Khan (0) and Rudra Pratap Singh (2) did not pose any problems for England, before visibility became poor and drizzle started to come down – and eventually the match was abandoned.
SCOREBOARD
Day 5, First Test, India vs. England, at Lord's, London
England (1st innings): 298
India (1st Innings): 201
England (2nd innings): 282
India (2nd innings, overnight 137/3):
Wasim Jaffer c Pietersen b Anderson 8
Dinesh Karthik c Collingwood b Anderson 60
Rahul Dravid lbw b Tremlett 9
Sachin Tendulkar lbw b Panesar 16
Sourav Ganguly lbw b Sidebottom 40
V.V.S. Laxman b Tremlett 39
Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 76
Anil Kumble lbw b Sidebottom 3
Zaheer Khan c Prior b Tremlett 0
Rudra Pratap Singh b Panesar 2
Sreesanth not out 4
Extras: (b 13, lb 5, w 6, nb 1) 25
Total: (for nine wickets in 96 overs) 282
Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Jaffer, 10.3 overs), 2-55 (Dravid, 13.5), 3-84 (Tendulkar, 24.5), 4-143 (Ganguly, 44.6), 5-145 (Karthik, 47.2), 6-231 (Laxman, 75.6), 7-247 (Kumble, 82.6), 8-254 (Khan, 87.5), 9-263 (Singh, 90.6)
Bowling:
Ryan Sidebottom 19 4 42 2
James Anderson 25 4 83 2 (2w)
Chris Tremlett 21 5 52 3 (1nb)
Monty Panesar 26 7 63 2
Paul Collingwood 1 0 6 0
Michael Vaughan 4 0 18 0
Result: Draw
Man of the Match: Kevin Pieterson (England)
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Simon Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire: Ian Gould (England)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)