Heavy rain lashes Edgbaston, delaying the start of play on Day 5 of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test [Watch]

The start of Day 5 (Sunday, July 6) of the second Test between England and India at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham has been delayed due to rain. The visitors had declared their second innings on Day 4 after scoring 427/6 in 83 overs, setting a massive target of 608 runs for Ben Stokes' England.

In reply, the hosts lost opener Zak Crawley for 0 and Ben Duckett for 25. Joe Root also departed early for six, as England ended the day at 72/3 after 16 overs, still needing 536 runs to win, with Ollie Pope (24) and Harry Brook (15) at the crease.

Much to the frustration of the Indian side, who are eyeing seven more wickets to level the series 1-1, rain has delayed the start of play. The England Cricket official X handle shared a video from the ground showing the rain, along with the caption:

“Weather report: Wet.”

Meanwhile, as per AccuWeather, the chances of rain in Birmingham are expected to decrease from 51% at 11 AM to 20% by 2 PM, UK local time. The evening is forecast to remain mostly cloudy, with 69% cloud cover and a 20% chance of rain.

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Michael Atherton makes a bold claim regarding India’s delayed declaration on Day 4 of 2nd Test against England

Several eyebrows were raised on Day 4 (Saturday, July 5) over India’s delayed declaration in their second innings. Former England cricketer Michael Atherton, speaking on Sky Sports, suggested the move was deliberate to ensure England had no realistic chance of chasing down the target. The 57-year-old stated:

"We all felt India went too far. To try and understand what they were doing, they are basically giving England no chance of a win and saying to this team that absolutely disdains the draw, 'Are you prepared of playing out a day for a draw?'"

"What happens at the backend tomorrow will determine what we say about that declaration because if England are 7,8 or 9 down, there will be a lot of criticism coming India's way. But, they did get the three new-ball wickets and are in control of the game,” he added.

Meanwhile, India are yet to register a Test win at Edgbaston, having played eight matches at the venue, losing seven and drawing one.