India’s series-clinching win over England in Ranchi finds much more perspective when the ‘English’ weather of Dharamsala, the venue for the fifth and final Test, is taken into consideration.
The hosts defeated England in the fourth Test to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, which turned the match in Dharamsala only significant in terms of the World Test Championship (WTC) points. Had the series been standing at 2-1 or 2-2 going into the fifth Test, England would have fancied their chances of winning or sharing the trophy in home-like conditions in chilly, rainy Dharamasala.

India moved to the top of the WTC table after Australia’s victory over New Zealand in their first Test at Wellington.

At the time this report was published, the morning temperature on March 7 in Dharamsala, when the fifth Test is scheduled to begin at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, is forecast to be just 5 degrees Centigrade.
“Mostly cloudy and cold with a little rain,” says the local forecast on the morning of day one of the Test. The afternoon temperature for March 7 is forecast to be 7 degrees, which is expected to dip again closer to the evening to be around 4 degrees.
However, the weather is expected to be warmer with temperatures hovering between 11 degrees at 21 degrees for the next four days of the match.
England began the series by winning the first Test by 28 runs. However, the visitors faced defeats in the next three matches to concede the series.
India levelled the series at 1-1 with a 106-run victory in Visakhapatnam, then took a 2-1 lead after winning in Rajkot by a massive 434 runs and made it 3-1 with a five-wicket win in Ranchi.