India vs West Indies Match, weather update in Manchester today: Clear skies, pleasant conditions expected at Old Trafford

India vs West Indies, Manchester weather update, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: After their last-over escape in the thrilling encounter against Afghanistan at Southampton, India take on West Indies at Manchester's Old Trafford, hoping to inch closer to the semi-finals with a victory in Thursday's fixture.

The Indian team will hope to inch closer to the semi-finals with a win over West Indies at Manchester. AP

While India managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the first game of the double-header last Saturday, West Indies couldn't pull off a similar feat against New Zealand later that evening, suffering a five-run loss against the Black Caps at the Old Trafford. All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite led a brilliant comeback, giving the Windies hope of victory from a near-impossible situation. While he slammed his maiden ODI ton to get West Indies to the brink of victory, he couldn't guide them home in the end, getting caught by Trent Boult at long on off James Neesham's bowling.

India too faced a similar situation in their fixture against Afghanistan. After opting to bat, the Indian batsmen uncharacteristically struggled for runs on what turned out to be a wicket in which runs came at a premium. Only Virat Kohli (67) and Kedar Jadhav (52) were able to post noteworthy knocks as India struggled their way to 224/8. Afghanistan, in response were off to a positive start, reaching 106/2 at one stage with two set batsmen at the crease before a twin-strike by Jasprit Bumrah put the 'Men in Blue' in a position of advantage.

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Mohammad Nabi top-scored for the Afghans with a 55-ball 52, and took the game to the very last over of the innings. However, Bumrah's economical bowling resulted in the Afghans needing 16 off the last over. While Shami conceded a boundary to Nabi off the first delivery of the final over, the pacer came back strongly, following it up with a dot before removing Nabi and the remaining batsmen off consecutive deliveries to complete India's victory with a hat-trick.

A number of games have been affected by rain in this World Cup, including the New Zealand-Pakistan fixture that got off to a delayed start. When India take on West Indies in Manchester it is expected to remain 'mostly sunny' and 'pleasant', if the forecast on Accuweather is to be believed. With a maximum temperature of 23 degrees celsius and a minimum of 10, there is no forecast for rain on matchday with mostly clear skies throughout the day. The three matches that have taken place at the Old Trafford have been high-scoring affairs, with England posting 397 against Afghanistan and India scoring 336 against Pakistan.

Maybe bat first and make good use of the ideal batting conditions first is what the captain winning the toss on Thursday will follow.

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