England failed to build on some good foundations against India on a rain-hit opening day to the second Test.

Over two hours were lost to the weather as the tourists limped to 163-4 after winning the toss in Mohali, with Kevin Pietersen's 64 the highlight.

He and Ian Bell (38) put on 81 before Bell fell to Anil Kumble and debutant Munaf Patel snagged Pietersen late on.

Irfan Pathan dismissed openers Andrew Strauss (18) and Alastair Cook (17) in successive overs before lunch.

LATEST ACTION (All times GMT)

STUMPS

1144: With rain now falling, the umpires decide to abandon play for the day after almost 40 overs are lost to the weather. Play will resume at 0400 GMT on Friday, when England will attempt to build a respectable total.

1128: The covers are on, the scoreboard has been turned off and most of the spectators have gone home. A few clues there as to whether we'll have any more play...

1106: The umpires consult and, quite understandably, Flintoff and Collingwood are happy to go off for bad light. Dravid has a grin on his face - he knows England were struggling.

1104: Patel, with his confidence soaring, is finding late reverse swing and Collingwood does well to keep out a full-length delivery.

1101: Kumble extracts bounce and turn to beat Collingwood emphatically. England are up against it.

1059: The skipper is underway after clipping a wayward Patel delivery through the mid-wicket region for four.

1057: Flintoff, who became a father for the second time overnight, comes to the crease with pressure on him to produce a captain's innings.

1055: WICKET: England 157-4 (Pietersen 64) A big blow for the tourists as Pietersen drives a slower ball straight back to Patel, to hand the seamer his first Test wicket.

1053: The Durham all-rounder chips Kumble just wide of mid-on and the ball creeps over the boundary rope. These two have now added 40.

1049: Collingwood keeps out a yorker from Patel - but only just as it rolls past the leg-stump. That woke up the crowd, which was settling down for the evening, and was the first decent over from Patel, who ripped England apart with reverse swing in a warrm-up match earlier in the tour.

1044: Collingwood cuts a poor delivery from Kumble for four, the first of his innings, to bring up the 150 for England. Kumble optimistically appeals for lbw after a full delivery strikes Pietersen on the front pad, but the replay shows it would have comfortably missed leg-stump.

1039: Patel is on for Pathan in search of a wicket on his debut. He has looked distinctly unthreatening so far, as witnessed by the ease with which Collingwood turns him through mid-wicket for three.

1034: Pietersen returns, pulling up his flannels while running towards the middle. That might be the answer to the mystery.

1033: The umpires come together for a chat. Pietersen asks them something and then sprints off to the dressing room after taking his helmet and gloves off. It is not clear what has happened.

1031: Not for the first time today, Pietersen is unsettled by movement behind the bowler's arm. Amusingly, the offender fails to understand what the fuss is about.

1025: Sloppy fielding from Tendulkar allows Pietersen's powerful drive to race away for four more. It has been a mixed-bag of an innings from the 25-year-old: some awe-inspiring drives and a few heart-stoppingly ambitious strokes. 140-3

1019: Pietersen flicks Kumble high over mid-wicket for his 10th boundary, but there was more than an element of risk in that shot. You cannot take your eyes off the action when this man is in!

1018: Collingwood pushes Kumble out on the on-side to finally get off the mark off his 16th delivery.

1017: Pietersen completes his fifth Test fifty off 76 balls with a square drive off Pathan. He reached for that a bit but it raced away to the boundary. It's criticial for England that he now kicks on and makes a really big score.

1015: Pietersen is looking to get forward as much as possible, even to the paceman Pathan. There might be a short one soon.

1011: The period of consolidation is over for Pietersen, who steps forward and lifts Kumble over mid-off for four and takes a quick single to mid-on.

1009: Pietersen share a joke with Hair - maybe they were discussing hairstyles?

1007: Pathan bowls from the other end, where Harbhajan had just the one over before the interruption.

1004: Pietersen and Collingwood make their way out to the middle. Pietersen has been aggressive in making 43 and takes strike to Kumble, who bowls a maiden.

0958: Collingwood practises a few defensive strokes. This will be a tricky session for the England batsmen to navigate.

0952: The covers are off and umpire Hair says play will resume in around 15 minutes at 1005 GMT.

0858: The light remains murky - at the moment it seems unlikely there will be much more play today. Meanwhile, play will commence 30 minutes early on Friday, at 0400 GMT, to make up for some of the lost time.

0828: The covers are back on the pitch, perhaps in anticipation of further rain. It could be some time before the action resumes. According to the rules, the maximum play can be extended by in the day is an hour. Rain caused the start of the game to be delayed by 45 minutes.

0819: Unsurprisingly, the light is offered to the batsmen and off they come. The "entertainment" will continue in the stands, where the crowd has swelled and become noisier as the day has gone on.

0817: It's spin at both ends, with Harbhajan returning for Pathan.

0815: Just when England looked to have recovered from their early losses, they have suffered another blow. The tourists need something special again from Collingwood, who hit his maiden Test ton at Nagpur.

0813: WICKET: England 117-3 (Bell 38) It really is quite dark at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium and Bell fails to read a googly from Kumble which startles him and clips the bails.

0807: Another handsome cover drive from Bell off Pathan takes him to 38. After a scratchy start, the Warwickshire batsman has grown in confidence and is proving an authentic foil to Pietersen's more unorthodox aggression.

0806: The umpires have a chat, probably about the light which has deteroriated further, but play will continue.

0759: Sanity is restored when Bell flicks Pathan down to the fine-leg boundary. Pietersen is struck on the pad later in the over but the appeal comes only from behind the wicket.

0758: A pause in proceedings allows the locals to indulge in some poorly executed bhangra dancing, which is inevitably shown on a screen at the ground.

0753: A lovely cover drive from Bell off Pathan brings him his fourth boundary. The runs have started to flow now on what is largely a very good pitch - these two have added 68 for the third wicket.

0750: Bell takes a single to bring up three figures for England in the 28th over. 100-2

0749: An extraordinary shot from Pietersen with one foot in the air as he tries to flick Kumble through his favoured mid-wicket region. An orthodox off-drive would have been far easier but Pietersen rarely goes for the easy option.

0748: As expected, Kumble comes on for Chawla. There won't be much loose stuff on offer from him.

0744: Pathan is back for Patel and the ball dies before going through to the wicket-keeper. Already we have seen signs of variable bounce and a slowing of the pitch. Pietersen flicks the next ball through mid-wicket for four more and moves on to 37. Bell has been more patient for his 24.

0741: Two minor victories for Chawla as Pietersen miscues a drive onto the off-side and swings across the line to a wrong'un. Pietersen is determined to hit Chawla out of the attack and it might not be long before the veteran Kumble is introduced.

0740: The beating of the dholak is in full swing again in an attempt to rally the Indian bowlers. The floodlights are on.

0738: Pietersen drives Patel for four through extra cover but that wasn't timed perfectly and was in the air for a while before beating a despairing dive on the boundary.

0730: This session will be extended by 30 minutes to make up for some of the time lost at the start of the day because of rain.

0729: Patel dishes up a half-volley which Pietersen devours with a cover-drive and the batsman wristily flicks a straightish ball through mid-wicket for consecutive boundaries. Dravid may have missed a trick here by having his two debutants on in tandem.

0725: Heavy cloud cover is obscuring the Siwalik Hills, at the foot of the Himalayas, but the sight of Chawla's classical action will do for the moment. Bell does well to squeeze out a good delivery for two down to third man.

0717: Chawla, groomed by the great Bishan Bedi at the Indian Academy in Bangalore, whirls in for his second over. He bowls quite quickly for a leg-spinner and the ball travels even quicker once Pietersen picks him up for a four and six through mid-wicket. This is a real test for the youngster and Dravid.

0714: The sound of a dholak, an Indian drum, competes with an Indian Air Force jet to batter eardrums around the ground before Bell pulls Patel with aplomb for his third boundary.

0711: The umpires and players re-emerge for the afternoon session. Conditions, not typical for this time of year, have become overcast during the break and there could be more help for the seamers. The key for England is to avoid further damage early on and rebuild. India will be hoping to make more inroads.

LUNCH 54-2 (Bell 14, Pietersen 4)

0631: The 17-year-old is neat and tidy but Bell safely negotiates the over and the players come off for lunch. After the start they had, England will not be happy.

0629: Teenage leg-spinner Chawla is handed his first bowl in Test cricket in the last over before lunch. He took 13 wickets in the Under-19 World Cup, forcing the selectors to take notice, and is considered one of the most exciting talents to emerge in Indian cricket in recent years.

0628: Pietersen again pulls away, with movement behind the bowler's arm troubling him. Patel is not thrilled but the batsman is well within his rights to do that.

0626: Pietersen has been watchful in a bid to get through to lunch. It will be interesting to see what his approach will be after the break.

0623: One of the Indian new boys Patel is ready for his second spell but Pietersen stops him short after being disturbed by something behind the bowler.

0620: Another false stroke from Bell, who pushes at Harbhajan and edges it to third man for four more. He is into double figures now and England have reached fifty but eight of those were very fortunate runs. 50-2

0617: Bell dices with death as he pushes at another wide one which flies wide and high over gully. The tourists are making a real hash of a glorious opportunity to pile up a decent score. Yet another Air Force plane flies over as more Indians start arriving at the ground - it's amazing what two quick wickets can do.

0616: England were hustled out for 238 here in December 2001 before losing by 10 wickets.

0612: The noise level, unsurprisingly, has been cranked up by the home fans with Bell and Pietersen freshly arrived at the crease. Bell pushes Harbhajan out on the off-side for a single and Pietersen sweeps to get off the mark with two.

0610: WICKET: England 36-2 (Cook 17) Cook plays across the line to a straight one from Pathan and, after a brief pause, umpire Hair raises his finger. From being comfortably placed, England are suddenly under pressure.

0603: Bell, who had a poor game in Nagpur, comes in and the touring fans will be hoping there is no repeat of day one last week, when a succession of England batsmen threw their wickets away.

0601: WICKET: England 35-1 (Strauss 18) Strauss chases a wide delivery from Pathan and gets a bottom edge to wicket-keeper Dhoni. He hangs around before the square-leg umpire confirms it has carried. Strauss gave it away there.

0559: Cook made a century on debut in Nagpur last week and will fancy his chances of making it two in a row here. He does not look entirely secure against spin, however.

0556: Cook tries to chop a Harbhajan ball that wasn't really there to cut and it beats him. The old-timers in the ground will be muttering words like patience and discipline. The 21-year-old makes no mistake later in the over and the ball disappears to the cover-point boundary.

0554: A slow short one from Pathan is cut by Cook and it really ought to have been four but substitute Kaif stops it just short of the rope. After the rain, it is no surprise that the outfield is slow.

0550: Harbhajan extracts plenty of bounce but it is slow and Cook cuts it comfortably, although the fielder prevents any runs. Strauss then watches as the ball turns sharply past him to Dhoni.

0548: There is a delay as Dravid points out something wrong behind the stumps. Dhoni repairs whatever it was that was bothering him on the ground and moves into position. A third plane passes over.

0546: Dravid has seen enough and brings on Harbhajan for the first dose of spin in only the eighth over of the day. Patel was innocuous in his first spell in Test cricket.

0544: Strauss pulls a shortish delivery from Pathan for his first boundary before another plane passes over the ground. You could say England have made a flying start. 27-0

0541: A scare for Cook who under-edges one Patel angles in from wide out and, fortunately for the Essex youngster, misses the stumps before bouncing through to Dhoni.

0539: A plane flies overhead - the area is known for heavy military traffic - as Patel switches to bowling round the wicket to the two left-handers.

0536: Strauss cover drives Patel beautifully but on a slowish pitch the ball is well stopped by Chawla. Strauss then turns the ball through mid-wicket for three and debutant Patel has done nothing so far to live up to the hype surrounding him.

0533: Some late movement again for Pathan when the ball is pitched up but Strauss deals with it well. He looks to be playing straighter, as he did when he first burst onto the international scene.

0530: The pitch is hardly lightning quick and looks like it could get slower and lower. A good toss to win then and the Indians already look frustrated - a few minutes earlier Tendulkar queried the state of the ball.

0525: Strauss again edges Pathan, this time wide of the slip cordon, down to third man for two more. Cook looks slightly uncomfortable as he is tucked up by a straightish one which squirts wide of square-leg for two and is squared up by the following ball which moves off the seam. Despite that, there has been little to alarm England apart from the first delivery and if they can get through the first hour they should look to cash in.

0520: Patel's first ball in Test cricket is pushed to the long-off boundary by Cook, who then takes a quick single to atone for his sluggishness at the end of the previous over. England fans, who have come in big numbers to Punjab, are already in good voice.

0515: The first ball swings away late and is edged by Strauss on the bounce through the slips for two. Later in the over Strauss drives an over-pitched one through the off-side for two more. It should have been three really but Cook was slow to get going.

0514: The two left-handers Strauss and Cook are out in the middle, with the Middlesex batsman taking strike to Irfan Pathan. England will hope to negotiate any early movement for the seamers and build a big total.

0450: One end of the pitch has a bit of grass on it, while the other looks like it will break up pretty quickly - so potentially assistance for the quick bowlers and spinners. India have three slower bowlers in their side in Chawla, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, while England have Monty Panesar, who made an encouraging debut at Nagpur.

0449: England make one change - seamer Liam Plunkett coming in for Somerset all-rounder Ian Blackwell, who had a poor game at Nagpur. Yuvraj Singh returns for India, while 17-year-old leg-spinner Piyush Chawla - the second youngest debutant after Sachin Tendulkar - and paceman Munaf Patel make their bows. Chawla was one of the stars of the Under-19 World Cup, while Patel took 10 wickets against the tourists in a warm-up game. VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif are dropped and Sri Sreesanth misses out because of flu.

0447: Andrew Flintoff makes it two out of two and opts to bat after winning the toss. The big all-rounder became a father for the second time overnight, wife Rachael giving birth to baby boy Corey, who weighed 6lb 14oz .

0432: Umpire Simon Taufel reveals that the toss will take place in 13 minutes, with play due to commence 30 minutes after that at 05:15 - 45 minutes after the scheduled start time.

0418: The covers have been removed but no start time has yet been announced. We need a toss first so it will be at least 30 minutes after any announcement before the start.