LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook continued his batting resurgence with an unbeaten 56, leading his side to 148-1 to equal India's first innings score at lunch on day two of the fifth test at the Oval.

Resuming on 62-0, Cook's opening partner Sam Robson could only add four runs to his overnight score before he was beaten for pace and bowled out by Varun Aaron for 37, losing his off stump in the process.

Before the start of the fifth test, Cook backed Robson to consolidate his position in the side, after only making one century and one half century in nine innings since his test debut in June.

But Robson again failed to post a big score after getting off to a good start and once more showed a vulnerability to deliveries around off stump.

Gary Ballance, the leading run scorer in the series, joined Cook at the crease and made sure India did not add to its early breakthrough and gain momentum.

He edged the next delivery from Aaron for four through the vacant third man area and is unbeaten on 40 alongside Cook.

Cook reached his half century when he cut Ravichandran Ashwin for four and will now look to convert his total into his first century since May 2013 and enforce his team's position in the test.

England leads the five-match contest 2-1 and needs to avoid defeat to win the series.