The series which has so far been played in very comfortable weather conditions in the Western, Southern and Eastern parts of India, moves far north to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh for the final fixture. The HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala has the highest altitude among all international venues in India and early March weather conditions in Himachal make it even more interesting.

It has been raining at regular intervals in Dharamsala for the past few days. Barring Monday, when the weather Gods allowed the groundstaff to prepare the surface and the playing area, it has been pretty wet due to regular splashes of rain. Rain during April and May is nothing unusual in this part of the world but it is certainly a bit early for the first week of March. The result? Temperatures plummeting below 5 degrees.

England won't complain. This is as homely as they can feel in India at this time of the year. But where does this leave the pitch? The curators haven't got much time to work on the 22 yards due to the rains. They still have a couple of days before the fifth Test and if the rain