India Vs England, 5th Test: Dharamsala To Offer Chilly Weather, Sleet Might Interrupt Play

India may have already sealed the series, but the fifth and final Test bears a fair degree of importance for both the hosts and Ben Stokes' England. While Rohit Sharma's men will aim to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 points table, the visitors will look to restore some confidence after suffering their first series loss in the 'Bazball' era. (More Cricket News)

The HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, the venue for the match, is likely to add some spice of unpredictability to the encounter. The weather will be drastically different from that in the previous four Tests, and many are speculating whether England will fancy their chances in the 'English' conditions.

As per the Indian Meteorological Department’s weather forecast, the temperatures could fall as low as 6 degrees Celsius on Day 1 of the Test match, with showers predicted for the first two days. Accuweather.com too has forecasted that afternoon thundershowers could impact the first day, with an 82 percent chance of rain. There have also been reports that there is possibility of sleet, which could hinder the proceedings.

Nevertheless, the conditions are likely to get better over the final three days, with Accuweather's forecast stating: "Pleasant and warmer with abundant amounts of sunshine."

The chilly conditions could aid English county-style swing bowling and bring the visiting team's veteran seamer James Anderson. But India too have a formidable pace arsenal, headlined by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Updated Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.

England: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.