Bazball takes first blood in India. The concept of batting with positivity works nicely to start with Ollie Pope leading the way remarkably. His knock on a 3rd day track to take England to a strong position is one to remember and India are now in with a few headaches.

India’s first headache is the loss of one of their greatest match-winners at home, Ravindra Jadeja. He was India’s highest scorer in the first Test and his bowling does not need much of a mention. With him gone India now have the challenge of finding a player who can do both jobs from one spot. His absence places a little more burden on Ravichandran Ashwin, whom India are going to be leaning on heavily as they look to get back into the series.

IND vs ENG Match Details

Date: February 2nd, 2024

Time:  9:30 PM IST

Venue: Dr.Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, Vishakapatnam

IND vs ENG Weather Report

Clear weather is expected through the test with some humidity with cooler temperatures at this time of the year.

IND vs ENG Pitch Report

The Vizag track is expected to be pretty dusty and the ball will take a considerable amount of spin through the game.

IND vs ENG Head-to-Head

IND vs ENG Predicted Playing XI

ENG Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashier/ Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood/ Jimmy Anderson, Tom Hartley

IND Playing XI

Rohit Sharma, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar/ Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar/ Kuldeep Yadav, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

See Also: Today’s Cricket Match Predictions – Cricket Winner

IND vs ENG Key Players

Ravichandran Ashwin

With Jadeja out a lot of focus will be on Ashwin. With his bowling he will have to step up further after doing a good job in the first Test and with his batting too Ashwin will have to make some contributions now that India’s batting depth is likely to be compromised.

Ollie Pope

Ollie Pope came out with one of the best knocks in the subcontinent and made strong use of the reverse sweep through his innings. The reverse sweep is an effective shot but can also be something the Indian spinners exploit as the series goes on. For now though, Ollie Pope’s use of that shot and his performance has been nothing short of remarkable.

IND vs ENG Match Tips

England took the first Test but Vizag could prove to be a bigger challenge with the track known to be dustier. The loss of one of India’s spinners though is a concern but they remain favorites.

Match Prediction: India Will Win The Match