India vs England: Chennai weather and pitch report for 1st Test

A view of Chepauk cricket ground getting ready for first India-England Test. (Source: Twitter)

Indian team will begin their quest to reach the World Test Championships (WTC) final with the first of the four Tests against England beginning in Chennai on Friday (February 5). Joe Root’s England are coming off the back of 2-0 series whitewash of Sri Lanka last month while India posted a heroic 2-1 series win over Australia down under. 

India vs England Chennai Weather Forecast

Chennai will be hot and sultry on all the five days and there is no chance of rain, according to the weather forecast. England should be used to these conditions by now, coming from Sri Lanka on their last tour. 

Chennai can get incredibly hot in the afternoons and this will test the fitness of the players with a high of 30 degrees expected. Owing to the weather, the conditions can be quite conducive to reverse swing and the pitch also dries up, which assists the spinners. 

India vs England Chepauk Pitch Report

The pitch has been a talk of town over the last week. Since, there has been no cricket played on this ground owing to the pandemic, the curator has gone ahead with a pitch which has a healthy covering of grass two days before the match. According to the Chennai curator, the track is expected to be a perfect Test surface – one that will assist the seamers on the first morning and then will be a good surface to bat on for the next couple of days and then, it will start breaking to assist the spinners. 

Last 5 Tests: India bt England by innings and 75 runs (Dec 16-20 2016); India bt Australia by 8 wickets (Feb 22-26, 2013); India bt England by 6 wickets (Dec 11-15, 2008); India drew with South Africa (Mar 26-30, 2008); India drew with Sri Lanka (Dec 2-6, 2005)