With nothing less than a victory in mind, Team India takes on England in the 4th Test of the series in Manchester, starting today. After losing the Lord's Test, which put India 1-2 behind in the series, Shubman Gill and his men can't afford to lose a single contest. However, a serious rain threat is looming large in Manchester on Wednesday, with the potential of washing out the entire day's play. It did rain in Manchester on the eve of the contest, and it might be the same case for a few more days.
According to Accuweather, there's about a 19 percent chance of rain in Manchester on Wednesday. But, the probability of precipitation increases as the day progresses. In the afternoon, the probability of precipitation increases to 65 percent. About 1.2mm of rain is expected in that period of the day.
In the evening, the probability of rain reduces a little to 47 percent. About 0.5mm of rain is expected in that phase of the day.
Day 1 of the 4th Test isn't the only day when rain is expected to play a role in determining the outcome of the match. There's an 84 percent chance of rain on Thursday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, however, pose a much reduced threat as far as rain is concerned.
With overcast condition, seam bowlers are expected to extract a lot out of the Old Trafford pitch, in comparison to the previous three Tests. However, the pitch has slowed down over the last few years, overnight rain at the venue is understood to have added some spice on the wicket.
With Nitish Reddy and Akash Deep not part of the contest, Team India's seam bowling selection is under the spotlight ahead of the start of the match in Manchester. As per reports, Chennai Super Kings pacer Anshul Kamboj is expected to make his debut in the Test, while Shardul Thakur could also return to the team for this match.