The second Test match of the Pataudi Trophy between England and India will be played on Thursday, 12th August, at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground.
India was in a better position to win the first Test but the Day 5 got washed out. India still needs to score big in the first innings which thoroughly depends on the BIG 3 – Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane. Three of them have been out of touch for the last few series. And if India has to take the lead in the series, then these three must-have to fire. With Shardul Thakur being ruled out of the second test, Virat can bring in Ashwin or can go with Ishant Sharma/Umesh Yadav and maintain his 4-1 combination.
“Most likely it will be a template going ahead (4-1 combination), but we’ve always been adaptable as well, to the conditions and pace of the wicket,” Kohli had said after the first Test.
Mooen Ali returns to the England squad for the second Test, and he should directly make it to the playing XI to give them an extra bowling option. There is a possibility that Dom Sibley/ Zak Crawley could be replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who scored a hundred in the practice game against India. Also, Mark Wood can come in place of Stuart Broad, who is struggling with a calf niggle.
Team News
England
Saqib Mahmood has been added as cover for Stuart Broad in England’s squad for the Lord’s Test; Dom Bess will leave the squad and return to Yorkshire. Broad is awaiting the results of a scan after appearing to slip while undertaking a light warm-up jog during training on Tuesday. James Anderson is doubtful for Lord’s Test due to tight quad.
India
Shardul Thakur has a hamstring injury and is likely to miss the Lord’s Test.
Records that might be broken in the second test
1. Virat Kohli needs 453 more to register 8,000 runs in Tests and become the sixth Indian to do so.
2. Joe Root needs 113 runs more to get to the 9,000-run mark in Test cricket. He will become the 16th cricketer to achieve this milestone.
3. R Ashwin needs just four more wickets to surpass Harbhajan Singh (417) and become the third-highest wicket-taker for India.
4. Ishant Sharma needs six more wickets to surpass Zaheer Khan (311). As of now, he has claimed 306 scalps at 32.18
5. Kohli (727) needs 273 more to breach the 1,000-run mark against England in England.
Match details
Date: August 12-16, 2021 (Thursday-Monday).
Time: 11:00 AM (Local/ BST), 03:30 PM (IST), and 10:00 AM (GMT).
Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.
Predicted XIs
England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed/ Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley/ Ollie Pope, Joe Root (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad/Mark Wood, and James Anderson.
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin/ Ishant Sharma/Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami
TV and live streaming details
TV: Sony Six (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Ten 4 (Tamil & Telegu)
Live Streaming: SonyLiv
