India vs England: No major change to follow in Chennai pitch for the 2nd Test

England cricket team had registered an emphatic victory against India by a massive 227 runs in the first Test of the four-match series at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Joe Root was the wrecker-in-chief for his team with a scintillating knock of 218 runs off 377 deliveries in the first innings followed by an impressive 40 off 32 in their second innings.

While England had delivered a comprehensive performance with both the bat and ball, some credit needs to be given to the pitch of Chennai too. The visiting nation had taken a massive lead over the Men in Blue by winning the toss and electing to bat first. For the first two days of the marquee game, the pitch was slow and flat without much carry, thus it didn’t provide any assistance to the host bowlers.

As a result, England was successful in posting a mammoth total of 578 runs on the board while batting for 190 overs. However, there was a massive turnaround in the pitch from Day 3, when Indian batsmen were there in the middle. Speaking about the pitch, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had reckoned in the post-match presentation, “It was a pretty slow wicket with not much happening in the first two days with the ball.”

The ball was stopping on the batsmen from Day 3, which didn’t help India batsmen: Source

Meanwhile, it is reported that there won’t be any major change in the pitch for the second Test that will run from February 13 to February 17 in the same venue at the first Test. Though the curator might leave a bit of grass for better carry and bounce, a massive change is unexpected.

“What Virat must have meant was that the pitch lacked carry. It had turn and bounce — he himself got out in the first innings to one that did both — but the ball was stopping on the batsmen from Day 3, which didn’t help Indian batsmen at all,” a source in the know told TOI.

India is expected to make some major changes in their Playing XI for the second Test against England. The two spinners Shabaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar are uncertain for the next game after their poor performance in the first game. Meanwhile, Axar Patel can make his debut for India in the purest format while Kuldeep Yadav can also make a comeback in the team.