Weather forecast for day five of England vs India fourth Test in Manchester: What's the outlook for fifth day's play?
England Takes a Lead Over India in Manchester Test as Ben Stokes and Joe Root Shine
The fourth day of the Test match between England and India at Old Trafford, Manchester, began with early morning showers, but the rain subsided, allowing play to commence.
England, who started the day on 403-6, scored 669 runs, taking a lead of 186 runs over India. The English innings was marked by stellar performances from Ben Stokes and Joe Root. Stokes scored his first Test ton since 2023, finishing with 141 runs, while Root moved into second place for the top run-scorers in Test history with his score of 150 runs.
Two wickets were taken by England just before lunch, leaving India to face the English bowlers after the break. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were batting for India with scores of 87 and 78 respectively, trying to mount a response for the Indian team.
AccuWeather predicts a 40 per cent chance of afternoon showers on day five, which could be a factor for teams to consider in the second innings if the match goes into the fifth day. However, chances of rain remain low throughout day five, according to Accuweather, BBC Weather, and Weather.com.
Historically, India's performance at Old Trafford has been mixed. They have played nine Test matches at this venue from 1936 to 2014, with a record of zero wins, four losses, and five draws. Their defeats include heavy losses by innings margins, such as two innings defeats: one by an innings and 54 runs in 2014, which was their most recent Test there, and other large-margin losses in 1952 (innings and 207 runs) and 1959 (171 runs). Despite this, India have been able to draw more than half of their matches at the ground.
In contrast, England have a strong record at Old Trafford with many wins and relatively few losses over a long history.
The match is scheduled for day five, and the weather forecast suggests that rain is unlikely to disrupt play significantly. As the teams prepare for the final day, the focus will be on how India can respond to England's strong batting and bowling performances, and whether they can break their historical losing streak at Old Trafford.
Despite the earlier rain, the weather conditions on the fourth day of the Test facilitated play, allowing England to extend their lead over India. The question now remains if the weather, predicted to be clear for day five, will affect India's response to England's strong showing in both batting and bowling, particularly in light of the mixed weather history in cricket matches at Old Trafford.
