India meet England in the second Test of the five-match series at Visakhapatnam on Friday. England lead the series 1-0 after scoring a thrilling 28-run win in the opener in Hyderabad.
The series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. India are in fifth spot with 26 points and a winning percentage of (43.33). England occupy the eighth place with 21 points (29.16 percentage).
England had won the opening Test last time too when they toured India in 2021. However, India bounced back to win the four-match series 3-1.
Possible line-ups
The hosts have been hit hard by injuries. Middle-order batter K L Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out after picking up injuries in the opening Test. Star batter Virat Kohli had already made himself unavailable for the first Two Tests owing to personal reasons.
Madhya Pradesh middle-order batter Rajat Patidar is all set to make his Test debut in the absence of Kohli and Rahul.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav will take Jadeja's place in the playing XI. Kuldeep will form the spin threat along with R Ashwin and Axar Patel. India are likely to persist with the new-ball pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as a lone pacer could backfire against England's Bazball tactics.
England are likely to bring in veteran seamer James Anderson as Mark Wood's new-ball partner. England had gone in with a lone pacer - Wood - in the first Test.
Experienced spinner Jack Leach could miss the match because of injury. Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, who made a memorable debut in the series opener, along with offie Shoaib Bashir and effective part-timer Joe Root could form the spin trio. Bashir could well make his debut in place of Rehan Ahmed.
Likely XI: India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, K S Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (capt), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood & James Anderson.
The venue
India have won both the Tests played at the Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The wicket is expected to aid the spinners as the match progresses. Both Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes will be eager to bat first and toss could be crucial.
Live telecast
The match will be telecast live on Sports 18. Live streaming will be available on JioCinema app.
