Bad light forced play to be abandoned at Lord's with England just one wicket away from victory on day five of the first Test against India at Lord's.

Ryan Sidebottom trapped Sourav Ganguly (40) lbw and Dinesh Karthik (60) edged James Anderson to slip before lunch.

But VVS Laxman (39) then added 86 with wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni to give India a sniff of victory before he was bowled by Chris Tremlett, who also had Zaheer Khan caught behind after the interval.

Sidebottom trapped Anil Kumble lbw in between and when Monty Panesar bowled RP Singh England could scent the win.

But with conditions getting ever murkier, umpires Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel offered the remaining pair of Dhoni, who remains unbeaten on 75, and Sri Sreesanth the light just before tea, which they took to the audible relief of the Indian fans.

Rain began to fall during the interval, meaning no more overs were possible, and the day's play was officially abandoned at 1830BST, handing India a draw they really did not expect or deserve.

India captain Rahul Dravid admitted his side were lucky to claim a draw with England after the weather forced the abandonment .

Dravid said "It was very stressful out there, we got out of jail I think. We got saved by the weather out there."

Dravid could not identify why India had started the match so badly, saying: "It is a young seam attack, maybe the conditions, it is a big occasion, maybe the nerves got the better of them at the end of the day.

"We need to correct it (batting) in the next two games. Our batsmen have got to get the runs. (Fielding) is something we need to work on and improve on. It's always been an issue."

The home side knew that the rain expected later in the day could be a major frustration in their bid to dismiss India and clinch victory. However, they started positively with two wickets inside the first hour.

But after that early success, England struggled to make further inroads, and by lunch on the final day, India had progressed to reach 207 for five chasing an unlikely victory target of 380.

The tourists had resumed on 137 for three needing a further 242 runs to complete an historic triumph but knew they needed a major contribution from their middle order to achieve it.

That prospect looked more remote after losing Sourav Ganguly in the fourth over of the day when he had added only four runs to his overnight 36, trapped lbw to a Ryan Sidebottom straight delivery after anticipating an outswinger.

Opener Dinesh Karthik followed four overs later after battling for over three hours at the crease for his 60, driving loosely at a James Anderson outswinger and finding Paul Collingwood's hands at second slip.

After reducing India to 145 for five, however, England were unable to break their resistance, with VVS Laxman and Mahendra Dhoni - both dismissed cheaply in the first innings - forging a useful 62-run sixth-wicket stand.

England attempted to unsettle both batsmen with short-pitched deliveries but both remained unfazed, although Dhoni was fortunate to survive after reaching 14 when he flashed at Monty Panesar and was missed by Collingwood at slip.

Dhoni also edged Anderson just short of Andrew Strauss at first slip on 21 shortly before the interval but survived to reach lunch unbeaten on 28 while Laxman had progressed to 29.

Meanwhile, Matthew Hoggard has been left out of the squad to face India in the second Test at Trent Bridge which begins on Friday, July 27

England (from): M Vaughan (capt), J Anderson, S Broad, I Bell, P Collingwood, A Cook, K Pietersen, M Prior, M Panesar, R Sidebottom, A Strauss, C Tremlett.