Bell full of praise for Old Trafford wicket

The wicket at Old Trafford has played nicely in the two days of cricket that has been played on it and England batsman Ian Bell termed it ‘the best of the season’.

- PHOTOS: England take lead before rain plays spoilsport

- Scorecard

Bell, who scored 58 in England's unfinished first innings total of 237 for six at the end of rain-hit day two on Friday, said, "It (match) certainly is poised very nicely. Hopefully tomorrow we can get past the 100-run lead, maybe get 150 runs ahead if we can. That will put us in a nice position."

"So far this has been a nice Test match, probably the best cricket wicket we have had all season.  It has good pace, good for batsmen and bowlers alike," he said after nearly two sessions were washed out by rain on Friday.

• Don't miss our coverage of India's tour of England

The batsman was full of praise for young India paceman Varun Aaron, who has figures of 3/48 so far in his first Test of the series.

"He bowled well obviously to pick those wickets. He has a bit of pace and he has used it on this pitch. He is really complimenting Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the moment and the Indian attack looks well balanced in this match with the two spinners in there as well," Bell said.

"We have two good batsmen at the crease. But it is going to depend a lot on the conditions tomorrow. They have made a big difference in the game so far as we have seen. Someone like Buttler, if he bats for long, can bat at some rate. So, hopefully the sun will be shining tomorrow," Bell added.

• Don't miss our coverage of India's tour of England