England and India head to the Oval for the decisive fifth and final Test of a hard-fought campaign on Thursday, with both teams battling mental and physical fatigue. A congested schedule of five Tests in less than seven weeks has proved gruelling, especially for the fast bowlers from both teams, with every match going the distance so far.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir got into a heated exchange with Surrey's head of ground staff Lee Fortis, who asked him to keep a distance from the wicket while inspecting the pitch at the Oval, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Tuesday.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir and Lee Fortis, the chief groundsman at The Oval, became involved in a heated exchange about which pitch should be used for practice.