The fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy kicks off on July 31 at The Oval. Here's the latest weather forecast for the match.
Both sides enter the series finale with different ambitions. England, 2-1 up, will be satisfied with a draw to seal the rubber, while India need a win to draw level. There has been some needle in the build-up, following events at the end of the Manchester Test last week, and India head coach Gautam Gambhir's run-in with Oval groundsman Lee Fortis two days out from the game.
5th Test, England vs India
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England announced their playing XI on Wednesday (July 30), with four changes. Captain Ben Stokes is set to miss out through injury. A much-changed Indian lineup is also expected with Rishabh Pant ruled out, and Jasprit Bumrah reportedly unlikely to take part.
Before the action gets underway though, the rain could have a say in proceedings. Here is the weather forecast for day one of the Test.
ENG v IND, 5th Test day one at The Oval: What does the weather forecast say?
The areas around The Oval have received heavy rain overnight, and things have not improved until 8am local time.
Accuweather predicts some rain before the scheduled start of 11am local time, with the chances at 61 per cent around the hours of 8 and 9am. This comes down to 49 per cent by 10am, and 24 per cent by the scheduled start of play. This remains fairly even until roughly 2pm, when the chances go back up to 47 per cent, hovering around 50 per cent for the rest of the afternoon/evening. There is also a Yellow Warning for thunderstorms between 10am and 9pm on Thursday.
The forecast for day one from BBC Weather is more grim. Chances of rain are estimated at 59 per cent at 9am, going as high as 89 per cent by the start of play. For the rest of the afternoon, this remains well over 50 per cent, only dipping to 47 per cent by 5pm. Interrupted play could very much be a possibility.
Weather.com makes note of a moderate thunderstorm warning from the UK's Met Office for Thursday. Of the three forecasts listed here, theirs is the least hopeful, with chances of rain around 50 per cent in the morning, before rising to over 90 per cent consistently from roughly 11am to 2pm. This comes down to around 17 per cent by 5pm, but such a forecast is quite dim, as far as the chances of play are concerned.
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