After four days of bright sunshine in London, weather conditions have threatened to interrupt the intriguing fifth day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia. According to Accuweather, there is a probability of thunderstorms on Sunday (June 11th) morning, which could mean a late start to the contest.
According to Accuweather, the temperature will reach a high of 29 degrees on the day, with the probability of thunderstorms standing at 40%. While the chances of showers reduces drastically during the evening, it will stay partly cloudy and the cloud cover will be 37%.
The weather report in London for 11th June. | (Credits: Screengrab)
The first couple of hours on the opening day was overcast, while the remaining part of the match saw bright sunshine. Day four at the Kennington Oval saw the temperature reach over 30 degrees, while it was slightly lower on the previous days.
India need 280 runs on day five with five wickets remaining:
Meanwhile, India will head into the final day, needing 280 more runs after scoring 164 runs off only 40 overs on the previous one. With Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, Rohit Sharma and co. can dream of pulling off the highest run-chase in Test history. The highest ever run-chase is 418, achieved by West Indies against Australia in 2003. India's best run-chase in the format is 406.
However, Australia will also believe that one wicket could open the floodgates for them to close out the game. Australia declared at 270-8 after resuming day four at 123-4. Alex Carey's unbeaten 66 and his partnership with 90 played a critical role in helping Australia set a 444-run target for India. Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, and Scott Boland have taken one wicket each so far.
India lost two quick wickets after a brisk 50-run partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, but Rahane and Kohli played with good intent, preventing further setbacks. The former captain and vice-captain are unbeaten at 44 and 20, respectively. Rahane was also India's top-scorer in the first innings with 89, which helped them reduce the deficit significantly. He didn't field in their second innings due to the finger injury sustained while batting.
