The State of Play
England head to Visakhapatnam with an advantage that not even their most ardent supporter could have imagined during the majority of the first Test in Hyderabad.
Having conceded a 190-run first-innings deficit, England were staring down the barrel and odds on to go 1-0 down in the five-match series.
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But then the remarkable happened. Ollie Pope hit a brilliant 196 before debutant spinner Tom Hartley ran through the Indian second innings, taking seven for 62, as the tourists won by 28 runs to secure one of their greatest ever Test victories.
It leaves India desperate for swift retribution on what is expected to be another slow, spin-friendly wicket. The home side are not used to losing on home soil – the first Test defeat was just their fourth in 12 years.
But with the home side missing some key players, England will seek to extend their advantage and put themselves in a commanding position in the series.
Team News
India have some notable absentees. Virat Kohli was already ruled out of the first two matches due to a personal matter while KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who both performed well in Hyderabad, are missing due to injury.
Rajat Patidar is likely to replace Rahul with Kuldeep Yadav stepping in for Jadeja.
England have suffered a blow with Jack Leach ruled out. The 32-year-old, who has suffered continuous injury problems over the past couple of years, has a knee problem which will mean a Test debut for his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir.
James Anderson also comes in to the team in place of Mark Wood, who made little impact in Hyderabad. It will be a 184th Test cap for Anderson. The rest of England’s spin-heavy attack have three between them.
Thank you, Hyderabad 🙏
Hello, Vizag! 👋
🇮🇳 #INDvENG 🏴 | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/maaI7WY88c
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 31, 2024
Expected line-ups
India: Jaiswal, Sharma (c), Gill, Patidar, Iyer, Bharat (wk), Yadav, Patel, Ashwin, Bumrah, Siraj
England (confirmed): Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Foakes (wk), Ahmed, Hartley, Bashir, Anderson
What they said
England captain Ben Stokes to BBC Sport on Shoab Bashir
“He possesses that natural ability, where he releases the ball from and how much energy he tries to put on the ball. Someone releasing the ball from height and putting that much on the ball is going to get that natural variation. That is very hard to play against out here. Some balls will spin, some will skid on.”
India batting coach Vikram Rathour on the pitch
“It looks like a wicket which will turn. Maybe not from the first day, but it should turn.”
When and how to watch
The second Test takes place in Visakhapatnam, starting at 4am. You can watch it in the UK on TNT Sports or Discovery+ with the programme starting at 3.45am.
Prediction
Opportunities to win in India are scarce but with the home side shorn of several key players and with their top order struggling to make meaningful contributions, this is England’s chance.
McCullum and Stokes will be aware of that and will throw everything at India to try to claim a 2-0 lead.
It should be a cracker with England just coming out on top.
