After heavy rain wiped out the morning, the home side lost their remaining six wickets for 26 to be all out for 298.

Kevin Pietersen was among the victims, caught behind shortly after the third umpire gave him a reprieve when Mahendra Dhoni claimed a catch behind.

Ryan Sidebottom trapped Dinesh Karthik lbw and James Anderson had Rahul Dravid caught behind to leave India 36-2 tea.

There was no hint of the drama to come when the dark skies led to torrential rain and thunder in St John's Wood a few hours previously.

The groundstaff somehow ensured play could start in the afternoon and India, who fought back with late wickets on Thursday, were well and truly in the game after England resumed on 268 for four with Kevin Pietersen on 34 and Ryan Sidebottom on nought.

RP Singh bowled nightwatchman Sidebottom with the new ball and Pietersen edged to keeper Dhoni off Zaheer Khan and umpire Simon Taufel raised his finger.

The Hampshire batsman started to make his way back to the pavilion only to stop and return to the middle after his teammates told him the ball had not carried.

However, minutes after the third umpire ruled in his favour, he produced a repeat edge and this time the Indians' celebrations were not curtailed.

The crowd and England balcony had little time to digest that turbulent period when Sreesanth (3-67) struck Matt Prior high on the pad but Steve Bucknor sent the batsman packing.

There was no doubt when Sreesanth pinned debutant Chris Tremlett in his crease for a third-ball duck and swung one in to Monty Panesar to win his third lbw verdict.

In the meantime, Ian Bell produced several fine drives and top-edged Sreesanth for a six.

But his dismissal, getting an inside edge onto his stumps, completed and summed up a remarkable passage of play which saw six wickets fall in an hour.

The exaggerated swing movement that Sreesanth, Zaheer and Singh had found was there for England's opening bowlers too and life was tricky for Karthik and Jaffer.

Jaffer had a lifeline in the third over when Prior missed a regulation chance after Sidebottom found his edge and recovered to play an elegant straight drive and flick through square-leg for the first two boundaries.

Sidebottom eventually had his reward when he swung one in to trapped Karthik plumb lbw and Anderson struck an even bigger blow when he got some late swing to induce an edge from Dravid.

In walked Tendulkar -- with more than 10,000 Test runs but a top score of only 31 at Lord's to his name.

He had few alarms early on but England knew removing him cheaply was the key to continuing their repair job.

Earlier, England, 247 for two when play resumed after a second bad light stoppage on the opening day, lost two wickets for three runs in nine balls as they declined to 255 for four.

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, was out for 79 when he edged left-arm quick Rudra Pratap Singh through to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

All-rounder Paul Collingwood then went for nought, plumb lbw to leg-spinner Anil Kumble. It was his first Test duck in his 46th innings at this level.

India would have been better placed had not Andrew Strauss, who made 96, been dropped on 43. Together with Vaughan he put on 142 in 50 overs for the second wicket.

But the left-handed opener should have been out when Dinesh Karthik dropped a straightforward catch.

India's novice pace attack initially struggled after Vaughan won the toss and it was left to the experienced pair of Sourav Ganguly and Kumble to dismiss left-handers Alastair Cook and Strauss.

Strauss, closing in on what would have been his 11th Test hundred and fourth in eight Tests at Lord's, fell to Kumble.

Having gone down the pitch, he played defensively, seemingly in a bid to counter a stumping chance, and edged to India captain Rahul Dravid at slip. Strauss batted for four hours and 25 minutes facing 186 balls with 16 fours.

Play was halted for bad light soon afterwards when Pietersen missed a hook at a bouncer from Singh, who with fellow left-armer Zaheer Khan bowled with greater accuracy as the day progressed.

South Africa-born Pietersen made no mistake when Singh next dropped short, pulling him for four before bad light intervened again.

But when Singh came round the wicket he had had Vaughan, driving well outside off-stump, caught behind.