The second Test between England and India at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, which was set to begin on Thursday, has been delayed due to heavy rains in London.
After losing the first Test by 31 runs at Edgbaston, Virat Kohli led Team India will be looking to bounce back in the second game of the 5 match series.
As both teams geared up for action on Day 1 to start the cricketing battle at Lord’s, rain spoiled the affair and toss had to be delayed. Persistent downpour at the venue delayed the start of play and eventually the game on first day was abandoned. However, it seems the playing XIs of both the teams have been leaked even before the toss.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli was expected to make a few changes in the squad after losing the first Test closely. However, the leaked image shows that he decided to go with an unchanged XI and showed faith in the same team that played at Edgbaston.
The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja were touted to return into the XI, but Kohli seems to have broken his 36-match long streak and for the first time ever decided to field an unchanged XI in back-to-back matches.
As per the line-ups mentioned in the reported leaked scoresheet, England all-rounder Chris Woakes has been called up to replace Ben Stokes which means Moeen Ali will have to wait for his opportunity. A Twitter user has posted the speculated leaked image of the match’s scoresheet claiming it to be true.
India unchanged for 2nd test. #ENGvINDpic.twitter.com/KFLLszmtNg
— bumrah. (@fake_bumrah_) August 9, 2018
If the leaked image turns out to be true, this will be the first time under Virat Kohli that India will be having the same playing XI in successive Tests.
Leaked Indian XI: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Hardik pandya, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
Leaked England XI: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
