India take on England in the 2nd Test match starting from February 2, Friday at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium in Vizag. Rohit Sharma's men are 1-0 down in the five-match series, after having ending up on the losing side in the Hyderabad Test. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
Despite taking a huge 190-run lead in their first innings, India could seize the initiative despite having England at 163/5 in their second innings as Ollie Pope played a blinder. His innings of 196 and doubled that with Tom Hartley's 7/62 in the second innings was the catalyst for India's downfall as the visitors won the first Test by 28 runs.
India and England will meet again in Visakhapatnam on Friday for the second Test. This will be their second meeting at the venue after 2016. Back then, India under Virat Kohli's captaincy, defeated England by 246-runs to claim a vital win.
Here's how the pitch will be at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium
Pitches at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium have usually been batting friendly but also provided wickets to the bowlers. Spinners and pacers have benefitted from the wicket.
After India failed to get a grip in Hyderabad against spin, reports suggest that this will be yet another rank turner. Ben Stokes suggested that they won't mind playing an all spin attack for the second Test. The black soil in Vizag may not enduce much bounce as it did in Hyderabad.
Teams batting first have claimed two wins so the toss plays a crucial role.
Weather Report
The weather forecast for Visakhapatnam across five days suggest warm conditions with a max temperature of 34° C. Rains might intervene on the third day but all in all, we could have a proper Test match on the cards.
Probable Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir/James Anderson.
