Rain spoiled the second day's play here at Trent Bridge, washing out two entire sessions,as India slumped to 302 for eight in their first innings in the second Test against England.
Only 25 overs were possible in the day between lunch and tea during which India added 92 runs to their overnight totalof 210 for four and lost four wickets.
Harbhajan Singh was batting on 13 and Zaheer Khan on one when rain forced an abrupt end to the day's proceedings afterjust 1.3 overs had been bowled after tea. Earlier, the morning session was lost due to persistent showers, which started lastnight.
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In between when India played, skipper Saurav Ganguly came up with an attractive 68-run knock before being sent back by acontroversial caught behind decision.
The other overnight batsman V.V.S. Laxman failed to add to his score of 22 while Parthiv Patel, the youngest wicketkeeperever to play Test cricket, made an inglorious start to his career, being dismissed fornought.
On a day when the ball swung far less than it did on the opening day, Ganguly executed some trademark shots on theoff-side and was associated in a rollicking sixth wicket partnership with Ajit Agarkar who contributed a quick, thoughshaky, 34 off 39 balls with six fours.
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Agarkar, who scored his maiden Test hundred in the first match at Lord's, lived dangerously as he repeatedly hit in theair over slip and gully region but punctuated his knock with some brilliant hits.
Ganguly, on the other hand, was grace personified as he hit a flurry of boundaries in his run-up to the half-centuryimmediately after the fall of Laxman.
Ganguly, unbeaten on 29 overnight, hit a perfect straight drive off Matthew Hoggard for a boundary and followed it upwith a sweetly-timed four through extra-cover in the same over.
One over later, he hit a glorious cover drive off Craig White and repeated the shot after two balls to bring up hishalf-century with his eighth boundary.
In between, Agarkar struck two boundaries in Andrew Flintoff's over as runs started flowing for India.
Flintoff replied with a extremely tidy over in which he tested Ganguly outside the off-stump. The Indian captain alsosurvived a strong leg-before wicket appeal in that over.
Ganguly, fighting to get back to form, showed fine judgement in leaving the deliveries outside the off-stump andwas unnerved even after being hit on his helmet by a rising delivery fromHoggard.
In another over from Flintoff, he struck two fine fours, one straight and the other through mid-wicket, to get into hissixties.
Agarkar's luck ran out at the other end, his chipped shot over the slips being caught brilliantly by a diving MarkButcher who was specially placed at short thirdman for that shot. Agarkar's dismissal brought up the first Test wicket fordebutant fast bowler Steve Harmison.
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Harmison struck again in his next over when he sent back a tentative Patel with a delivery that rose sharply. Thelittle wicketkeeper could do nothing as the ball took the outside edge of his bat and flew to Flintoff in the secondslip.
Tea was taken at the fall of Patel's wicket with India seven down for 287. Immediately after the break, Indiasuffered a setback when Ganguly was adjudged caught by Alec Stewart off Hoggard.
Ganguly was clearly unhappy with the decision by umpire Russel Tiffin and walked off shaking his head in disbelief.
PTI
