Heavy rain disrupted proceedings just before the lunch interval on day one of the fifth and final Test between India and England at The Oval. With dark clouds looming ominously over the ground, a downpour began moments before the scheduled break, forcing players to rush off the field and prompting an early lunch. The entire square was swiftly covered as forecasts of persistent rain proved accurate.
According to AccuWeather, there was a 70 percent chance of rain on Thursday in London, and those predictions materialised with unfortunate precision. The morning session concluded with India at 72 for 2 after losing both openers on a lively green pitch that offered plenty of assistance to the seamers.
The weather outlook for the rest of the day appeared bleak. Forecasters predicted continued rainfall throughout the afternoon, threatening to significantly interrupt play. Between 2 PM and 6 PM BST, persistent showers are expected to plague the contest. The chances of rain stand at 70 percent at 2 PM and increase to 80% by 4 PM. Although the probability drops to 40 percent by 5 PM, much of the day’s play could already be lost by then.
Despite the tough conditions, India showed composure after early setbacks. On a surface that offered the most grass seen in the series so far, the new-ball bowlers found movement off the seam but little swing through the air. Yashasvi Jaiswal was trapped leg-before by a sharp in-dipper from Gus Atkinson, while KL Rahul was bowled by Chris Woakes after dragging a wide delivery back onto his stumps.
India’s innings was steady from that point, with the score at 72/2 when the heavens opened. The visitors made four significant changes to their playing XI. Fit-again pacer Akash Deep returned, alongside Prasidh Krishna, Karun Nair, and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. The quartet replaced Jasprit Bumrah, Anshul Kamboj, Shardul Thakur, and the injured Rishabh Pant.
England, on the other hand, had already confirmed four changes ahead of the Test. Regular skipper Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer were unavailable due to injury. Their absence necessitated changes that left the side with a new-look bowling attack and Ollie Pope as stand-in captain.
(With PTI inputs)
