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After facing a shocking 227-run defeat in the first Test against England, Team India will look to bounce back in the second Test, scheduled to begin from Saturday (February 13) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The Virat Kohli-led side slipped down to the 4th position in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) table after the major loss. The equation is such that one more loss in the series would mean India getting eliminated from the tournament.
India’s advantage in the second Test is of the crowd support as 50 per cent of fans have been allowed to enter the stadium.
Pitch report:
The surface at Chepauk offers assistance for batsmen as well as spinners. After the hosts’ displeasure with the wicket used here following an embarrassing 227-run loss, the track is expected to behave a little differently compared to the first Test.
Head to Head record:
Matches played: 123 | India: 26 | England: 48 | Draw: 49 | Tied: 0
Playing combination:
India
Since Axar Patel is regaining fitness, it is expected that India will replace him with Shahbaz Nadeem. Another change that might take place is of Kuldeep Yadav. Since August, the wrist spinner has been in bio-bubble and played just a couple of tour games in Australia. There could be a toss-up between Kuldeep and Washington Sundar.
IND XI: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar/Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma.
England
Jos Buttler has returned home and will join England team for the limited-overs series. In the absence of Buttler, England have picked Ben Foakes.
Stuart Broad will replace James Anderson as part of England’s rotational policy. Moeen Ali is expected to replace Dom Bess. Jofra Archer, who has been ruled out of the second Test due to elbow injury, will be replaced by Chris Woakes.
ENG XI: Joe Root (C), Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Ben Foakes, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes.
