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The fifth and final match of the Test series between England and India is set to commence from July 31 at The Oval. With the hosts leading the series by 2-1, they are definitely the favourites to lift the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, however the Men in Blue can manage to level up the series by recording a victory in the final match.
However, the weather can have a thing or two to say on both the first and second day of the fifth Test. According to Accuweather, there is an 86% of chance of rain and even a yellow alert for thunderstorms on Thursday in London. Thunderstorms are expected around 3-5 PM and there are also high chances of afternoon showers. Early morning showers are also predicted and they can end up delaying the toss.
The weather can end up significantly impacting the conditions, making it very important for both teams to win the toss so that they can take advantage. Unfortunately for the Men in Blue, they have lost all four tosses that have been held so far in the series.
India's heroic batting display in Manchester Test
Meanwhile, India recorded a hard-fought draw in the fourth match of the series against England which was held in Manchester. After the visitors posted 358 runs on the board in their first innings, the hosts went on to dominate with the bat and hit 669 runs in reply. This resulted in the Men in Bl;ue trailing the Three Lions by 311 runs.
India had a disastrous start to their innings and got restricted to 0/2 at one stage, losing both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks. It looked as if an inning deffeat may very well be on the cards, but the duo of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill had other plans. Both of them provided some much-needed stability to the visitors and went on to form a huge partnership of 188 runs.
Rahul missed out on his hundred and got dismissed for 90, but Gill went on to hit his fourth ton of the series. After the latter departed for 103 on the fifth day, it was up to the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to take India's innings forward. Unexpectedly, the all-rounders combined to form a humongous stand of 203 runs, taking the Men in Blue's total over the 400-run mark for the loss of just four wickets.
Eventually, both Jadeja and Sundar went on to score unbeaten centuries as England only managed to pick up four scalps in 143 overs. The match was called off as a draw with India putting in a fantastic batting display on Day 5 and finishing on 425/4. It remains to be seen if their batters will continue their fine form in the all-important fifth Test.
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