India vs England 2024, 2nd Test Match Preview

Hyderabad wasn't ready. Melbourne wasn't ready. Brisbane wasn't ready. Canberra wasn't either. But life is what life turns out to be, no? It waits for none and the show usually goes on. 

But life is also about the little moments while watching the sport you're hopelessly in love with, the adrenaline rush, the dopamine burst, the heart palpitations, the melancholic dance, that feeling when you just know it's not your day, and when you know it is yours. 

India were humbled by England on a spin-friendly deck. Novak Djokovic was dismantled by Jannik Sinner in his own kingdom. West Indies ended their victory drought in Australia after 27 years. South Africa’s resilience reaped rewards against Australia for the first time in women's internationals.

Something was off. Or maybe not. To some, it did not feel right, and to a few others, it was perfect. It was pinch-me territory. Well, streaks are meant to be broken, and history is meant to be created, but if insanity has levels to it, these were on top, at least for now.

England's win against India in the first Test had a poetic brutality to it. India usually have been invincible at home. When trying to describe, you run out of superlatives the minute you start. They had just lost three Tests since the start of 2013 before the one in Hyderabad.

They were pretty much expected to roll over England after a bit of Bazball and a lot of usual England on days one and two. It felt like there was a sense of sameness. England were bowled out for 246 and India piled on the runs as well as pressure. Suddenly, they were 190 ahead after the first innings.

The English heads didn't drop. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum sure had guts. They had instilled immense self-belief and it had spread fast. It looked like Bazball had come to the party.

McCullum hated the word but surely knew it was much more than just a word. It was a platform more than play. It was a platform to showcase talent, to go out there and express yourself taking away all the ictus of victory. It was more about playing to the potential and giving the side the best chance to win.

Bazball lifted your morale, and Tom Hartley had first-hand experience after a shocker of a Day 1 debut. Stokes showed faith, kept bowling him till he found his rhythm and was comfortable with the conditions. Funnily, he went to pick seven in the second innings and nine for the game. Ollie Pope after looking like he was all over the place, rattled in the first 15 balls of his first innings, swept, reverse swept, scooped, late cut 196 against Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel to be adjusted Player of the Match.

On the other hand, India squandered a promising start as plans and execution went awry. They were defensive, super defensive, conservative and at times clueless. The spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja usually delivered the goods at home but were never able to create consistent pressure. Shubman Gill with hard hands continued to struggle against left-arm spin and Shreyas Iyer generous enough to give England some catching practice summed up India's second Innings.

India have problems aplenty going into Visakhapatnam. To put things in context, Joe Root has more Test runs than the entire India squad for the second Test. Virat Kohli is still out of the squad due to personal reasons. Fresh injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have ruled them out as well.

Sarfaraz Khan who was not just knocking but was beating the national doors down has finally earned his maiden national call-up. Washington Sundar and Sourabh Kumar have also earned phone calls. The talent? In abundance but the execution when 0-1 down against a confident England? Only time will tell. With India feeling the weight of history, and England now feeling the weight of rewriting history, Visakhapatnam is the place to be when precision meets pedigree.

Dr Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium Pitch Report

The 2016 Test in Vishakapatnam between India and England was all surface hype. The turn, the revolutions suitable, the dry strip, selective watering and whatnot. The surface spun, but not as much. It had the ball skidding at a rate of knots. Eight years on, the hype is still there with teams floating around possibilities to play all four spinners. The captain winning the toss will be happy to bat first and long.

IND vs ENG Probable Playing XI for 2nd Test

India: 

With Rajat Patidar's stellar showing and Sarfaraz Khan's stratospheric domestic numbers, India might unfortunately not find space to accommodate both batters for the Vizag Test.  India being big on batting depth, Washinton Sundar could be a straight swap for Jadeja. The hosts could also bring in Kuldeep Yadav to replace Mohammad Siraj as their quartet for Ashwin, Axar and Sundar. 

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah.

England

England named their playing XI on Thursday afternoon with tall Lancashire spinner Shoaib Bashir due to make his Test debut after Jack Leach was ruled out due to an injury on his left knee. The visitors have prioritised swing and extended spells over pace in short bursts as Anderson has replaced Wood. 

Predicted XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson. 

IND vs ENG Tests Head-to-Head Records: