England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bowl first in the second Test match at Edgbaston. India, with hopes of drawing the series back, resorted to three changes in their playing XI. The key bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, has been rested, and so has the young speedster Akash Deep, who made his test debut. The all-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have also been brought in at the expense of Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan as India aim to strengthen the bowling attack and still maintain depth in batting in this do-or-die contest.
The tour opened with the rivetingly exciting match in Leeds, which raised great hopes for the rest of the series. India had collected close to 850 runs and a first innings advantage, and the six individual centuries, but they managed to manage to lose it, as England went on to demonstrate their increased maturity under the lead of Stokes. Fans will be looking forward to five more days of good quality Test cricket as the teams head to Birmingham to play the second game of the Anderon-Tendulkar Trophy.
Edgbaston, however, has crushing memories of India. England had made their record Test chase at this venue three years ago, and with their second-highest chase having been achieved last week, Shubman Gill and boys ought to ensure that they forget about such past hurts pretty soon. In Leeds, India flattered to deceive with the bat, poor fielding, and inability to finish off with bat and ball hurt the team.
Among the prominent hitters were Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant, as Pant wrote his name in the books of history as the second wicketkeeper to notch centuries in both innings of a Test match. Sai Sudharsan did look promising in his debut, but the nervousness was also noticeable. Without Bumrah, India’s bowling attack will be scrutinized on this kind of pitch, where the pitch is normally in favour of seamers at the beginning, but smooths out in the later part.
In England, the just mindset is straightforward: do the same that they did in the first match, play well, and be in control.
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