England stunned not only just Indian team but all the experts and pundits as well with their amazing 28-run win in the first of the five Tests. The match which was played in Hyderabad, saw England coming back after conceding a 190-run lead, with excellent batting and bowling performances.
England’s Ollie Pope made an exquisite century and made important partnerships with the lower order to put his team ahead. Then Tom Hartley recovered well from the assault he got from Indian batters in the first innings and picked 7 wickets to run through the opposition lineup. This helped England defend the 231-run target with ease.
The second Test of the series will be played at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam from February 2 onwards. England will look to extend their lead over India, especially after they lost Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul to injuries and have a fragile middle order. With this in mind, let’s have a look at the Predicted England playing XI for the second Test versus India.
Here’s England’s predicted XI for the second Test against India:
Openers: Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. (Photo by Stu Forster – ECB/ECB via Getty Images)
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett might not have made big scores, but they gave England a solid start in both innings of the first Test in Hyderabad. Crawley and Duckett added 55 and 45 runs respectively in both the innings of the Test match. Duckett looked more aggressive than Crawley and took on the Indian pacers head-on.
They will be tasked to do the same thing on a pitch in Vizag that is expected to turn more than Hyderabad’s surface. Despite their shortcomings in technique against spin, Crawley and Duckett have attacked the Indian spinners from the get-go and used aggression as a form of defence.
Middle Order: Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes
Olie Pope and Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The middle order is where England shined in the Hyderabad Test match. Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Stokes all contributed important runs, Captain Stokes starred with the bat with a knock of 70 in the first innings to take England to 246.
Then in the second innings, it was the turn of Ollie Pope to showcase his class and he did it with an excellent 196. He got support from Ben Foakes and Rehan Ahmed, as Pope used sweeps and reverse sweeps and his feet to negate the spin advantage India had.
Bowlers: Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson
Tom Hartley. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
Tom Hartley had a horror showing in the first innings where he took 2 wickets for 131 runs in 25 overs. But he starred with the ball in the second innings, as he took 7/62, the third-best bowling figure by a visiting bowler on his Test debut in India. Rehan Ahmed supported him well, as Jack Leach had suffered a knee injury and bowled quite less.
One of the most impressive things was Joe Root’s bowling as he took 4/79 in the first innings. He bowled like a proper spinner and with Leach bowling less, he supported Ahmed and Hartley well. With Leach reportedly set to miss out on the second Test due to his knee issue, expect England to bring in Shoaib Bashir into the XI. Bashir arrived in India as the Hyderabad Test was in progress, after solving his visa issue.
Also, there is an expectation for the England side to manage the workload of Mark Wood, who bowled 17 and 8 overs in both innings and didn’t cause any damage to Indian batting. He could be rested and England can bring the experienced James Anderson, who can be more effective even on a turning track, which is expected in Vizag.
England’s Predicted Playing XI for the second Test against India:
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (Wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.