When and Where to Watch India vs England, Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, and Pitch Report for 2nd Test

How quickly can tables turn in sport? A fitting example is India’s rare, gigantic defeat at Chennai – only their second rout at home in more than eight years. Not a month has passed since the warriors, battered and bruised, were welcomed to the flashiest cheers, the most gleeful hoots, with the utterly esteemed badge of “Demolishers of the great Gabbatoir” stamped over their chests.

And following the scarcely believable, once-in-a-lifetime script that etched India’s name into the cricketing folklore for eons, came a rude awakening. That it came in the advantageous precincts of home conditions, added only more offense. Foolish, however, it would be to write such spirited men off, who did the unthinkable in most of their ablest soldiers’ absence.

And that is precisely why the English skipper, Joe Root – standing on the cusp of leapfrogging one of England’s finest captains’ (read: Michael Vaughan) record of 26 Test wins – breathed caution after the first Test came to close: “They will come back hard at us. I expect Virat to want to come out and for India to respond straight away from ball one”, he said. Root was honest in opinion and more brutally so was the Indian skipper in confessing all the faults his team made.

Test matches are often won and lost in the first two days. Having allowed their opponents to bat two days and over 190 overs, eventually leaking a lead worth 578 was enough to lay a foundation for them to script their 6th Test win on the trot in the subcontinent – a place Joe Root has been in love with. A batting performance far away from expectations intermixed with some masterful bowling performance on a deteriorated fifth-day track did the rest for England.

Not all was negative for India, though, and the scintillating run of form of two young guns – Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant – apart from the promising display of Washington Sundar with the bat are happy takeaways from a match that barely went their way. The in-vain six-for from Ashwin and the 72 from skipper’s bat himself might not have made a bearing on the game’s result, but that has perhaps set the tone for two of India’s most crucial cogs for the time arriving.

Coming to the stakes of the second Test, Root wants his men to be ruthless: a template that Virat Kohli has never been a stranger to. While three of India’s last four home defeats in Tests have come against England, they will be well aware that none of those have been half as costly as the one at Chennai, when seen in the light of the tense atmosphere around the development of the World Test Championship.

After quite some time has a team managed to bring some wrinkles of worry on the faces of India at home. While that might not be a pleasant change of status, the presence of some more humans than those who are officially a part of the game – 14,000 spectators are allowed inside – will certainly be one, come the second game.

Pitch and conditions

After a slow and flat surface that Ishant Sharma chose to term a “road” in the first Test, both the teams are expected to earn more purchase on a quick turner in the second fixture, with turn on the offer as early as the opening day. Given the cover of clayey soil over the usual red on the track, which is on the square to the first game’s pitch, it is expected to be much drier, therefore offering low bounce as the game progresses.

Playing combinations for IND vs ENG

India

Virat Kohli, quite evidently, hinted at how Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar lacked the bite with the ball. With Axar Patel regaining complete fitness after his knee injury and getting a green signal for selection, India is certain to exclude Nadeem. However, that still leaves the management to mull over the choice of the third spinner, contested between Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav.

Given Sundar’s prowess with the bat, Kuldeep might have to continue with the wait on the sidelines. India is not expected to press the panic button and barring any last-minute changes, the batting order will be unchanged.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Chetershwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav/Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma

England

Skipper Joe Root confirmed the return of Stuart Broad in the side for the second Test, however, the visitors will be without the services of Jofra Archer due to his elbow discomfort. Jos Buttler, who is set to miss the remainder of the series, will be swapped with Ben Foakes, whereas owing to England’s rotation policy, Olly Stone is expected to fill in for James Anderson. Dom Bess, who looked off-color in the previous game, might pave way for Moeen Ali.

Predicted XI: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Dan Lawrence, Joe Root (C), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (WK), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes/Olly Stones, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad.

IND vs ENG Head to Head 

Played – 123 | India – 26 | England – 48 | Draw – 49

In India

Played – 61 | India – 19 | England – 14 | Draw – 28

IND vs ENG Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 9:30 AM (IST)

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming– Disney + Hotstar