Edgbaston weather update, India vs England Test Day 5: India and England are set to headline a potentially thrilling day of Test match cricket at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham on Sunday after the visitors made a resounding comeback over the last four days after losing the first Test in Headingley last week. Erring after opting to bowl first on sunny conditions and a flat pitch, England captain Ben Stokes and Co. were made to pay by Shubman Gill’s Team India, with the young captain steering the side to record-breaking batting.
FOLLOW: IND VS ENG LIVE UPDATES, 2ND TEST DAY 5
The latest report from Birmingham is that play will start at 5:10 pm (IST) with 80 overs of play possible on Sunday, Day 5. Sandeep Dwivedi, The Indian Express’ man on the ground in Edgbaston for the second Test, writes in his dispatch from Birmingham: “A rain interruption might seem to be favouring the home team but that is not the case.” Read Sandeep Dwivedi’s piece
Gill smashed 269 and 161 in two innings in the Test, becoming the first batter in Test history to record a 250 and a 150 in the same match. Gill’s 430 runs meant that India eventually tallied 1014 runs across both innings, making it the first time in 591 Tests that India had aggregated more than 1000 runs in a match. The superb batting display left England with a mammoth 608-run target to chase, with Stokes and England handed a massive challenge to try and sustain Bazball through a chase. However, the skies could come in to favour the hosts as India attempt to pick the seven remaining wickets for a historic first win at Edgbaston and level the series 1-1 before next week’s Lord’s Test.
According to the UK Met Office department, wet weather could potentially affect the first half of the day in Birmingham, with chances of rainfall standing at 50 to 30 per cent from 10 am to 2 pm (7:30 pm IST). However, the Met department has predicted “Heavy rain changing to overcast by lunchtime”, with chances of rainfall falling below 10 per cent after 3 pm.
Edgbaston weather today (UK Met Office)
| Local Time (IST) | Chances of Rain | Temperature °C |
| 9 AM (2:30 PM) | 70% | 16° |
| 10AM (3:30PM) | 50% | 16° |
| 11AM (4:30PM) | 40% | 16° |
| 12PM (5:30PM) | 30% | 17° |
| 1PM (6:30PM) | 30% | 18° |
| 2PM (7:30PM) | 30% | 18° |
| 3PM (8:30PM) | 10% | 18° |
| 4PM (9:30PM) | <5% | 18° |
| 5PM (10:30PM) | <5% | 18° |
The Shubman Gill-led side is looking to start their new ICC World Test Championship cycle with a win ahead of the second Test slated to be played next week in Edgbaston. Meanwhile, hosts England are targeting one of their highest-ever Test chases in history. Only once before has 350 runs been achieved on the final day of a Test in a victorious result, 77 years ago by Don Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ in the 1948 Ashes, in a match that also incidentally took place at Leeds.
Aided by bright and sunny weather on the opening morning last Friday, India entered their new Test era with a comprehensive batting performance led by centuries from captain Gill, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. After earning a slender six-run lead, India put on another sturdy second-innings display with Pant and KL Rahul breaching the three-figure mark. The five centuries in the match are the highest-ever by India in their Test history.
