Birmingham’s weather on Sunday could play spoilsport in India’s chances to level the series 1-1 in the second Test against England at Edgbaston.India are in a dominant position, courtesy of India captain Shubman Gill, who became the first batsman in Test history to make scores of 250 and 150 in the same match before Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep again struck with the new ball as the tourists pressed for a series-levelling win.Gill followed his first-innings 267 in the second Test with another superb knock of 161 off just 162 balls.He eventually declared India’s second innings on 427-6 after tea on the fourth day.That left England needing a mammoth 608 runs to go 2-0 up in this five-match series.However, according to the forecasts, the morning will begin under overcast skies with light showers expected between 9 and 11 am. These early interruptions could delay the start of play and inject fresh life into the pitch, offering assistance to the seamers with lingering moisture.
As per the UK Met Office, wet weather is likely to impact the first part of the day in Birmingham, with rain probabilities ranging between 50% and 30% from 10 am to 2 pm local time (7:30 pm IST). However, the forecast indicates that “heavy rain will give way to overcast skies by lunchtime,” and the likelihood of further showers will drop to below 10% after 3 pm.No side in 148 years of Test cricket has made more to win in the fourth innings than the West Indies’ 418 against Australia at St John’s in 2003.England’s corresponding record is the 378 they made against India at Edgbaston three years ago.But at Saturday’s close in Birmingham, they were 72-3, needing a further 536 runs on the final day to achieve a win that would be remarkable even in their current ‘Bazball’ era of aggressive batting.Mohammed Siraj, who led India’s attack with 6-70 in the first innings, struck an early blow Saturday when he removed Zak Crawley for a duck as a loose drive went straight to backward point.Deep, given the unenviable task of replacing Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s number one-ranked fast bowler, then carried on from his four-wicket haul first time around by bowling left-hander Ben Duckett (25) with a nip-back ball.He then clean bowled Joe Root for just six as the world’s number one-ranked Test batsman was undone by a superb full-length ball that moved away late.
