IND vs ENG / Will rain become a problem in the fourth test? Know the weather condition

IND vs ENG: The fourth match of the five-Test series between England and India is going to start from July 23 at the historic Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. This match is very important for the Indian team, as England is leading 2-1 in this series. The Shubman Gill-led Indian team will have to win this Test to stay in the series, otherwise England can win the series. However, the uncertainty of the weather is making this match more challenging, as rain is expected for the entire five days.

Weather condition in Manchester

According to the AccuWeather report, the weather may remain bad during the Test match in Manchester.

The day-wise rain chances are as follows:

• July 23 (Day 1): 25% chance of rain, light drizzle possible.
• July 24 (Day 2): 25% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• July 25 (Day 3): 20% chance of rain, weather may get slightly better.
• 26 July (fourth day): 25% chance of rain, possibility of interruption in the game.
• 27 July (fifth day): 58% chance of rain, which can affect the result of the match.

It is clear from these figures that rain can play a big role in this Test match, due to which both the teams may have to change their strategy. In case of a draw, it may be difficult for India to save the series.

Old Trafford pitch: Balance of batsmen and bowlers

Manchester's Old Trafford Stadium is known for its balanced pitch, which provides opportunities to both batsmen and bowlers. The features of the pitch are as follows:

• Early day: Helpful for fast bowlers, especially with swing and seam movement.
• Middle stage: Batsmen can score big if they settle at the crease.
• Third and fourth day: Spin bowlers start getting turn and bounce.
• Fifth day: The pitch becomes more difficult for the bowlers, which can make batting challenging.

The team winning the toss will likely opt to bat first as chasing big targets at Old Trafford has always been tough. The Indian batsmen will need to recover from early setbacks while the bowlers will have to wrap up England's strong batting order cheaply.

India's record at Old Trafford

Old Trafford has been a challenging ground for India so far. The Indian team has played 9 Test matches at this ground but has not won a single one. India lost 4 of these matches while 5 were draws. Among the Indian bowlers, only four players—Lala Amarnath, Vinoo Mankad, Surendranath, and Dilip Doshi—have taken five or more wickets in an innings at this ground. Surprisingly, no Indian bowler has been able to take a five-wicket haul here since 1982. This statistic presents a big challenge for the Indian bowling unit.

Strategy of both teams

India:

• Batting: Batsmen like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rohit Sharma will have to be cautious in the early hours. In the middle order, Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant will be expected to play aggressively.
• Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj will be responsible for getting the early breakthroughs, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will have to do spin magic in the later stages.
• Strategy: Given the possibility of rain, India will have to bat first and score big and then try to get England out early.

England:

• Batting: There will be reliance on experienced batsmen like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow. England's aggressive 'backball' strategy can be effective on this pitch.
• Bowling: Fast bowlers like James Anderson and Chris Woakes will have to take advantage of the early conditions, while Jack Leach can contribute to spin.
• Strategy: England will try to score big by winning the toss and batting first, so that pressure can be put on India.