This is the final game of a five Test series. The teams come into the game with England ahead 2-1 meaning India need a win to level matters while a draw or a win will see England win the series.
England v India | 5th Test | 31 July to 4 August | Kennington Oval, London | 12:00pm
England will be without skipper Ben Stokes for the game due to a bicep injury. Ollie Pope will lead the team in his absence.
England will also rest fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse who get the Test off after their heavy workloads in the preceding games. Spinner Liam Dawson also misses out on selection. In their places England have summoned Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue.
England will go without a frontline spinning option for the fifth Test with that role set to be shared between Joe Root and Jacob Bethall, who has been brought in to replace Stokes.
These are two very evenly matched sides, each side has won two of the last five games where they have faced each other, with the most recent game ending in a draw in Manchester.
Venue: The Kennington Oval, London
The Kennington Oval has played host to 112 Test matches. Of those games the side batting first has won 42 times while the side batting second has won 30.
The average first innings score at the venue is 338.
The highest ever score at the ground was a massive 903 for seven, made my England against Australia in 1938. That game saw Sir Leonard Hutton post a massive 364.
India have played 15 Tests at the Kennington Oval. They have won just twice with seven draws and six losses.
England has played 106 Tests at the ground and won on 45 occasions. They have lost 24 and drawn 37 times.
India’s last Test at the venue was the WTC final in 2023, a game they lost to Australia by 209 runs.
The last time England and India faced each other at the ground it was India who won by 157 runs.
Weather:
There is plenty of rain predicted for London over the next few days. Showers are anticipated for all but the third day of the Test. But that said it is showers rather than sustained rain. So, while there may be interruptions, it shouldn’t be enough to see the Test too severely affected. The maximum temperature during the Test will be a moderate 23 degrees.
Form (most recent game first):
England: D, W, L, W, W.
India: D, L, W, L, L.
Key player:
England, Joe Root: He is the number one batsman in the world and the second highest Test run-scorer of all time. Root passed Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid on the all-time scorers list in the last Test, but his numbers in this series have been excellent. He has scored a total of 403 runs thus far at an average of 67.16. Root is a man in form and with Ben Stokes missing for the final game he will want to step up and be the rallying point as England seek to win the series.
India, Shubman Gill: There have been plenty of Indian players who have done well this series, but few have had as much impact as new captain Shubman Gill. Thus far he has scored a total of 722 runs (including four centuries) at an average of 90.25. Every time Gill has gone past the 50 mark he has gone on to reach three figures. But he hasn’t just been influential with the bat, his leadership has been excellent as well. He is tactically astute, and he leads by example. Expect him to have a big influence on proceedings in south London.
Verdict: India
England will be without the influential Ben Stokes, which is a big loss. More importantly though, as much as the last game was a draw it will feel more like a win for India who ended the game on the front foot having shut England out. Both sides have plenty of players in form, but India have momentum on their side and should edge the hosts to secure a series draw.
