IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Heavy rain clouds day 5 start at Edgbaston - WATCH

Rain continues to pour in abundance ahead of the start of day five of the second Test between India and England at Edgbaston. Although the weather forecast predicted a restricted shower spell during the day, the latest visuals confirm it could be a long wait before the play resumes in Birmingham. Rain was always going to play a spoilsport on the final day at this venue, something England batter Harry Brook also reminded Indian captain Shubman Gill early on day four, saying, ‘Shubman, it's raining tomorrow. Half day. Afternoon, it's raining,’ to which Gill replied, ‘Bad luck for us.’ Brook didn’t stop there, further suggesting ‘take a draw’ in this second Test.

The covers are on at Edgbaston, with the rain showing no signs of stopping.

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Meanwhile, day four of the second Test entirely belonged to India. The Indian batters made merry on a flatter Birmingham track, scoring heaps of runs in their second innings and setting an improbable target for the hosts.

Gill was the standout batter of all, hitting a brilliant 161, which came after he smashed his career-best 269 in the first innings. The right-handed never looked like giving English bowlers any chance of dismissing him, even with his wicket coming off a Jaffa from Shoaib Bashir, whose delivery bounced extra. Gill, however, took on the English attack with caution, discipline and flair, whacking 13 fours and eight sixes in his marathon innings.

But there was one problem with Team India’s second innings – the declaration. Although the reasons behind stretching the lead beyond 600 was evident, given how eagerly England wanted to chase any target set for them and also what happened in the Leeds Test, pushing it that late even knowing the weather forecast for the next day did no good to India, who are fighting to level the five-match series.

However, they did find success late on day four, picking up three wickets, including both openers and ranked number one Test batter Joe Root. Akash Deep was on song, picking up two, while Mohammed Siraj returned with one to his name, completing seven wickets thus far in this match.

As things stand, England would need another 536 runs to win with seven wickets remaining.

The hosts lead this series 1-0.