After the historic win at Oval, India will lock horns in Manchester for the last time in this series. The fifth test is scheduled for Friday, 10th of Sep. A win at Manchester is England's last hope to draw the series and remain undefeated in their home ground since 2007. For the same reason, English players will desperately try to pull a win in their last Test. India has a 2-1 lead so far in this series and all they have to do is play defensive and take the match towards a draw, if not a win. Though Root led team will do their best to accomplish a win, Virat's men are filled with positive temperament after a huge win at Oval. Moreover, breaking the losing streak in England from the past 14 years is something every Indian is looking forward to.
In their 4th Test in Oval, India started on a bad note as their players did not perform well and were all out in the third session on the very first day. Although English openers couldn't perform well with Burns and Hameed contributing only 5 runs, Pope's 81 off 159 helped England to put 290 on the scoreboard giving India a trail of 99 runs.
On the third and fourth day, India's batting order performed exceptionally well, Rohit's century and Pujara's 61 along with Kohli and Rahul's 44 and 46, respectively, kept India stable throughout the second innings. Marking Rahane off the list, India's batting order contributed generously in the 466 and the hopes of a win were high among the fans.
England came on strong after India's second inning and unlike the first innings, Burns and Hameed played a good partnership on the fourth day. The Indian bowlers failed to break the first wicket partnership on the fourth day and England continued to end the day with 77 runs with Hamid and Burns all set on the crease. The fifth and final day of the 4th test was very disappointing for English fans as they saw a heartbreaking loss when Indian bowlers kept a leash on England batsmen and bowled them out in the third session.
England team will probably opt for a change in the fifth test and might take in Buttler and Leach. On the other India will most likely go with Ishaan or Shami or they might take both in the squad. India also might take Ashwin in the squad as Jadeja performed well in the fourth test.
Weather Report
There's a slight chance of precipitation on the first three days of the test. The temperature will hover around 19 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
The pitch at Manchester favors spinners and that is why we might see more spinners in the final Test. Batting first will be a good option as the wicket will wear out as the game goes on giving spinners an edge through the later sessions of the game.
Probable playing XI for England
Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (C), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(WK), Moeen Ali, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, and Jack Leach
Probable Playing XI for India
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Key Players
England: Joe Root, Dawid Malan
India: Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin
