India vs England 5th Test Preview: Pitch Report, Probable Playing XI, Match Deals
The fifth Test between England and India will finally get underway on Friday, July 1. The hosts currently have the upper-hand over India as they recently whitewashed New Zealand by 3-0. In the meanwhile, India’s squad is marred by injury and covid scare.
India:
The good thing for the visitors is that they cannot lose this series as they’re leading by 2-1. However, a draw can seal the Test series victory for them on English soil after 15 years. If India manages to do so it will be their fourth Test series win in England.
The major concern for India is the absence of KL Rahul from the team. He is out of the squad due to an injury. The opener was the second-highest run-scorer for India after the first four Tests. Another big blow for India is the scepticism around captain Rohit Sharma’s availability for the Test match. Rohit got Tested for Covid-19 during the warm-up game against Leicestershire the result of which came out to be positive. Rohit will go through another Test before the game tomorrow which will give the final verdict on his availability for the Test.
If Rohit is not able to make it to the eleven, India will have to do a lot of shuffling to their team to bring in a new opener in place of Rohit.
Probable Playing XI:
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma/Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.
England:
England’s new brand of cricket introduced by the new coach Brendon Mccullum and captain Ben Stokes has taken the cricketing world by storm. They chased a target of over 275 with ease in all the three Tests against New Zealand.
England played the Test series last year without their star all-rounder Ben Stokes and bowler Stuart Broad, who got injured after the first Test match. Their return to the team is a positive sign for England, who are riding high on confidence after whitewashing New Zealand
Joe Root, Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow are in a tremendous form and will give headache to the Indian bowlers. The bowling also looks settled with James Anderson likely to make a comeback from his injury.
Probable Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes / Sam Billings (wk), Jamie Overton / Jack Leach, Stuart Broad / Jack Leach, Matthew Potts, James Anderson.
Match Details:
Date : 1ST July 2022
Venue- Edgbaston, Birmingham
Time : 3:00 PM onwards
Broadcast and Live Streaming Details:
Live Telecast- Sony Six and Sony Six HD
Live Streaming – Sony Liv
Pitch Report
The average score batting first in a Test match at Edgbaston is 308. The team batting first will be eager to get to 300 runs on the board. The Captain that wins the toss would like to bowl first so that the bowlers could make the most out of the fresh pitch on Day 1. The overhead conditions on Day 1 will also influence the captain to bowl first after winning the toss.
Weather Report
The weather prediction for the match is not very promising as rains are predicted on Day 1 and Day 2. The next three days will have clear weather with overcast conditions being constant.
