India Vs England 2nd Test: Who Will Clinch The Lord’s Fort, India Or England?

The first test match between India and England got ended with a draw as the fifth and the match deciding day was washed away due to rain. Both teams were credited with 4-4 points each for the World Test Championship. Now, both India and England will have eyes on winning the second test which will start today at Lord’s cricket ground. 

Lords has always been a special place to play cricket especially test cricket. Since cricket was born here so it is also called Home Of Cricket. Every team who plays here wants to win at this ground to get registered in the hall of fame. The last time India won a test match at Lords was in the 2014 India tour of England. MS Dhoni was captaining India in that series.

India won the only test in that series and that win came at Lords. Ishant Sharma was brilliant with the ball that day along with a special hundred from Ajinkya Rahane. 

England has been phenomenal at Lords. As they are hosts, they have to make Lords their unbeaten fort. Pacer James Anderson has some great spells at this ground which he wants to repeat in the second test match starting today. 

If we look at the Indian bowling line-up, all the bowlers are in great form. Though team got a breakthrough as Shardul Thakur is injured and won’t be available for the second match. It will be interesting to see if Ishant Sharma is fully fit to play. Indian bowlers took all 20 wickets of hosts and showed that why this bowling line-up is one of the best in the world. The major concern for the Indian team is the lack of form in middle-order batsmen. 

Cheteswar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane are three pillars of Indian batting but none of them can score big. Skipper Virat is still searching for his century. The last one came in 2019. Rahane hit a ton in the Boxing day test against Australia at the MCG but after that ton, he hasn’t been well. Pujara too hasn’t hit any ton for a long time now. Though he is scoring 50s he needs to convert those into big ones. 

On the other hand, the English team won’t be too disappointed with their bowling unit. James Anderson is in form and Ollie Robinson is doing great. Though the hosts got a setback as Stuart Broad has been ruled out from the whole series due to a calf injury. The major concern for England is that besides Joe Root no other batsman is scoring big. They need to spend more time on the pitch. Right now, the whole England batting line-up is revolving around Joe Root. 

India’s Probable Change in the XI

Since Shardul Thakur is injured, R Ashwin can get the chance to play. If Ishant Sharma will be fit, Mohmmad Siraj has to sit on the bench to make way for experienced Sharma. India can drop Jadeja too if they want four fast bowlers. 

The match will start at 3:30 pm as IST. You can watch the live-action on Sony Sports Network.