ENG vs IND: Ishant Sharma and Mayank Agarwal hit nets ahead of Lord's Test

After a drawn first game, England and India will battle it out in the second Test of the five-match series. The encounter gets underway on Thursday (August 12) and both teams would be raring to get the first victory on the board. Team India would certainly be confident as they dominated the major part of the Trent Bridge Test. In fact, they were on the cusp of victory, needing 157 runs on the final day with nine wickets in the bag.

However, rain played a spoilsport and a draw was the result. Nevertheless, Virat Kohli’s men would be raring to draw the first blood at Lord’s and they have some good news heading into the contest. Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma and opener Mayank Agarwal were seen sweating out in next and the duo won’t mind taking the field in London.

Mayank Agarwal, Ishant Sharma hit the ground running

Agarwal, in a clip shared by Doordarshan Sports, was seen polishing his skills in the net session. He played a couple of strong shots on the off-side which are indeed great signs for Team India. For the unversed, Agarwal sustained a concussion ahead of the series which even forced him to stay out of the first game. However, he now looks match fit.

#TeamIndia batsman Mayank Agarwal is back in the nets! #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/oZXHYEtCfK

— Doordarshan Sports #TokyoOlympics (@ddsportschannel) August 10, 2021

Speaking of Ishant, many were shocked seeing the veteran fast bowler not featuring in the Trent Bridge Test. While any official word didn’t come, it was reported that the right-arm pacer was struggling from a tear that he suffered during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in July. Nevertheless, Ishant seems to have gained full fitness and the team management would be tempted to draft him in the playing XI.

Ishant Sharma seems to be match ready, as he is practicing in full swing…… pic.twitter.com/4EFUs2qLid

— CricTwig (@crictwig) August 10, 2021

However, neither Ishant nor Agarwal is an automatic inclusion in the playing XI. In Mayank’s absence, KL Rahul was asked to open alongside Rohit Sharma and he didn’t disappoint. He registered scores of 84 and 26, and dropping him won’t be wise. Rohit also performed decently, scoring 36 and 12 not out across two innings. Hence, tinkering with the combination won’t be wise.

On the other hand, India fielded pace quartet of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur in the previous game. All four pacers were among the wickets and it would be interesting to see if anyone can make way for Sharma.