The first session of the fifth day of the second Test between India and England at Edgbaston has been delayed due to heavy rain. Though the weather didn't interrupt play on any occasion during the first four days of the match, it is now delaying play on the all-important final day of the match.
According to Sports Tak, the rain in Birmingham is persistent and is pouring down heavily. It wouldn't be a big surprise if the entire first session gets washed out due to the weather conditions.
Not a great news for India at all
Now this may be good news for England, who had the incredibly difficult task of scoring 536 runs and not lose their remaining seven wickets on the fifth and final day, however it definitely is not a news that Shubman Gill & Co. will be happy with. The weather can turn out to have the final say in the match and it can severely hamper the Men in Blue's chances of recording their first-ever Test victory at the venue.
The Indian team and their fans will certainly be hoping that the weather conditions in Birmingham get better as soon as possible so that the match can resume at the earliest.
Meanwhile, India put up a mammoth second-inning total of 427/6 on the board on Day 4, setting up a humongous target of 608 on the board for the hosts. Shubman Gill once again was the star performer for the Men in Blue with the bat, playing a marvelous knock of 161 runs. The likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja also scored gritty fifties and massively contributed to the Men in Blue's total.
In reply, England had quite a shaky start to their run-chase as they lost opener Zak Crawley for a duck to Mohammed Siraj in just the second over. Soon after, Ben Duckett would be dismissed by Akash Deep in the fifth over before the Indian seamer also got the massive wicket of Joe Root for just six runs to restrict the hosts to 50/3 at one stage. The duo of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook formed a 22-run partnership and ensured that the side didn't lose any more wickets, leaving them at 72/3 at the end of the day's play.
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