London, July 31 (PTI) The commencement of the second session on the opening day of the fifth Test between India and England at The Oval has been postponed due to rain on Thursday.
The umpires are scheduled to inspect the field at 7pm IST.
An early lunch was declared as a result of rain, with England making two crucial breakthroughs to restrict India to 72 for 2 in the morning session.
With Ollie Pope leading England in this match, the hosts struck swiftly, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal falling for 2, trapped leg before wicket by pacer Gus Atkinson.
Pacer Chris Woakes further set back India by bowling out KL Rahul, who contributed 14 runs off 40 balls, leaving the scoreboard at 38 for 2.
On an overcast day, Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill steadied the innings by remaining unbeaten at 25 and 15, respectively.
The duo managed to put together an unbroken 34-run partnership for the third wicket before heavy rain, which began just moments before lunch, forced the players to hastily return to the dressing room.
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