WTC Final At The Oval, London: Weather Forecast For All 5 Days, Pitch Report, Records - All You Need To Know

Team India will take on Australia in the biggest clash of the year, the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Kennington Oval in London starting Wednesday, June 7. The two best and deserving teams after having performed consistently for two years at home and away stand on the cusp of winning a world title in the most traditional format and still probably the pinnacle of the game. Since it's a neutral venue, the advantage for any particular team might be non-existent and England produces good cricket wickets that last for five days, hence the team which performs better over those 15 sessions will get its hands on the Test mace.

Usually, the overcast conditions in the UK are known to assist bowlers more than the batters and the same might be the case this time around as well. The bowlers in England get more movement than anywhere else in the world with the new red ball and hence the first period of play willl be crucial.

Even though weather will be clear and sunny, the groundsmen have left plenty of grass on the pitch. The grass will not only hold the surface for five days but will also help the seam bowlers get the initial movement. Generally at this venue, batting gets better as the match progresses and this might be the case once again. The weather is clear for first three days and after the tough period with the new ball is gone, the set batters could really do some damage and hence, expect the captain winning the toss to bowl first, despite it being a knockout. Also there's the unknown of an Oval Test being in June, which is happening for the first time in history.

London has been dry and sunny in the past week or so and will remain as such for the first three days. The probability of precipitation as per Accuweather is 1 per cent for first two days and 2 per cent on Friday, June 9 hence rain might not make an appearance in the first three days. The temperatures will hover around a high of 22 degrees on first two days and 24 degrees on June 9 while the lowest will be 10 degrees on the opening day.

However, the weather is set to change drastically in the last two days of the Test match with thunderstorms predicted on June 10 and June 11. There's a heavy shower predicted on Saturday, June 10 with a 70 per cent chance of rain and a 28 per cent chance of thunderstorm, hence the rain could interrupt play for a few hours. The prediction gets even more gloomy on the fifth day with an 88 per cent chance of rain and a 35 per cent of thunderstorms. Hence, the fans and both teams will hope that the majority of play gets completed in the first three days as start-stop play will be the feature of the next two days.

In 104 Test matches at this venue, 37 have been won by teams batting first and 29 by the teams chasing. As for the two teams playing, India have played 14 Tests at the Oval and have won two, lost three and drawn 7 matches. The last time they played at the Oval, India beat England by 157 runs after a magnificent ton by Rohit Sharma.

On the other hand, Australia have played 34 matches at the Oval and won 7, lost 14 and drawn 17 of them. Australia were handed a 137-run loss by England, the last time they played here in the Ashes 2019.