India take on England in the second Test of the five-match series at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam starting on Friday. The home team, whom the Three Lions thrashed in the first Test in Hyderabad, will want to avenge their defeat in this game. The pitch is expected to take enough turn from the second day itself to aid both sides.
Enjoying a phenomenal track record of doing well in the subcontinent, England will face a tough India in this game. The home team knows well enough that they cannot rest on their laurels. One can expect them to come back hungry, especially after the loss in Hyderabad. Shoaib Bashir, regarding whose visa a lot of controversy erupted before the series, is expected to play a big part in this game.
Ollie Pope was the star for England in the first Test, and a lot will be expected of him in this game as well. His sweeping and reverse sweeping abilities have marked him out from the rest of his colleagues. Zak Crawley, Joe Root, and skipper Ben Stokes must be at their best in Vizag.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been ruled out with injuries, which means that either Sarfaraz Khan or Rajat Patidar will have to debut in this game. India have also thought about playing Washington Sundar to offer more spin options. England, for their part, have often spoken about playing four spinners in these conditions.
Predicted Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
Key Players
Yashasvi Jaiswal (India): Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is one of the finest players to have played for India in recent times. The southpaw showed us what he could do in Hyderabad, and big things are expected of him in this Test. He can hit the ball a long way and rotate the strike well.
Ollie Pope (England): Ollie Pope's 196 was the difference between India and England in the first Test. He will be expected to take to the Indian spinners in the second Test as well, and it remains to be seen how the latter devise a plan to tackle him. Pope's sweeping is one of the key aspects of his game.
Match Prediction
Although England won the first Test against India by 28 runs, the home team will try to come back strongly in this one. India hold the advantage over their opponents given that they will be playing in familiar conditions, and England will have to be wary of the threat posed by their hosts in this game.