Preview 2nd Test: India wary as England look for an encore in Chennai

It seems like the focus of the entire cricketing community has shifted to Chennai for the first half of February. While some of the hopefuls are concerned about how the fateful evening of 18th February will pan out for them when eight teams will bid for the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, the majority wants to remain focused on the second Test against England which may end up deciding the fate of the Indian team at the World Test Championship.

Ideally, this should not have been a headache of this intensity for the Indian team. In home conditions they were expected to steamroller the visitors comfortably but England turned up better prepared, fully supported by a track that made the advantages of winning the toss too apparent.

But there are reasons to believe that the encore of what happened in the first Test may not be easy to pull off for Joe Root’s men. They will be without James Anderson, the wrecker in chief in the second innings and India too will feel emboldened with Axar Patel recovering from the injury. Although, the lanky left-arm spinner is yet to make his Test debut, he has done enough to exude confidence.

Crowd too will be back after what seems like ages – something which will favour the Indians who can certainly do with some outside support with a spot in WTC final at stake.

As far as the team is concerned, India don’t have much issues to be worried about. They look like a settle unit and minor tweaks will keep them ready for the fiery contest.

Openers Shubhman Gill and Rohit Sharma missed out on a good batting track in the first Test and the team will hope for a better start this time around. Virat Kohli hinted a return to form in the second innings and with the team’s back against the wall, the skipper can be trusted to take the fight to the opposition. Ajinkya Rahane’s batting form might be a concern from outside, but Kohli quashed all the speculations in the post-match conference after the loss in Chennai.

England will be a confident side going into the Test. They have a new keeper in the form of Ben Foakes; and with Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali’s return, the Three Lions will bear a new look in the game.

The reports from Chennai have indicated that the track for the second Test will be far more supportive for the spinners – making the task slightly more difficult for the tourists.

On the other hand, with no room for a loss now, India are expected to be a far more vigilant side, bringing out their A game for the contest.

Probable Playing XIs

India: Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah 

England: Joe Root, Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Moeen Ali, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, and Chris Woakes