England skipper Ben Stokes has won the toss and decided to bowl first 2nd test at Edgbaston. Team India will bat first, like they did in the first test match.
India Drops Bumrah, Brings in Fresh Energy
As it was announced that Jasprit Bumrah won’t be playing all 5 test matches, he has been rested. Even Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur have been dropped. Now, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep have been given a chance in the second test match. With these changes, Team India now looks for the winning momentum after losing out first test match.
On the other hand, England has made no changes in the playing XI as they want to continue where they left off after the first test win.
After winning the toss, Stokes said,”We’re going to bowl. Overhead conditions favour it. Did you consider everything (bringing Archer into the squad?). Very good team performance last week, we’re confident. You understand the conditions better as you go deeper into the Test. Brains and me and Baz are not three things you put together. Great run chase, great Test to be part of, great start to the series. Last week is last week, need to concentrate on this week.”
Indian captain Shubman Gill said, “Would’ve bowled first as well. If there’s anything in the wicket, it’s on the first day. Three changes – Reddy, Washi and Akash Deep come in. No Bumrah. Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break, and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord’s, we think there’ll be more in that pitch, so we’ll use him there. We were tempted to play Kuldeep, but looking at the last match, our lower order didn’t do well, so we decided to add some depth to the batting.”
Tough Task Ahead at Edgbaston
India has never won a Test at this ground, and the pressure is real. The team, now led by Shubman Gill in this match, will be hoping to change that record and turn things around after the loss in the series opener.
With Bumrah not in the mix, the bowling attack looks different. It will be interesting to see how the new combination works against a confident England lineup.
Playing XI
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
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