Ind Vs ENG, 2nd Test | Five Player Battles To Watch Out For

image-ls38um16Yashasvi Jaiswal (AP Photos)

Riding high on confidence, the England cricket team will take on Rohit Sharma-led Indian team, which will be under a bit of pressure after a long long time on their home soil, in the second home Test of the five-match series in Visakhapatnam, starting February 2.

In the first Test, Ollie Pope showed his class by scoring 196 against India on a slow-turning pitch, even as England found themselves trailing by 190 runs in their second innings. In the defense of a target of 231, debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley spun a web, securing seven wickets in the fourth innings to dismantle the Indian batting lineup. Led by charismatic Ben Stokes, the visiting England side emerged victorious, winning the match by 28 runs in Hyderabad.

As the second Test approaches, both teams find themselves in a critical position. England is looking for another win while India aims to level the series. Both sides face injury concerns, with KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the Vizag Test, and England's Jack Leach also set to miss the game.

India striving to return to the win column and England aiming to sustain their winning streak, the series promises continued entertainment. As we build up for the second Test, let's take a look into the five player battles that are set to mesmerize fans around the world.

Joe Root vs Jasprit Bumrah

image-ls3232d0Bumrah has dismissed Root seven times in Test cricket. (X.com)

Root was brilliant with the ball, taking five wickets in the match. However, he wasn’t as good with the bat as he has looked against India in Test cricket in the past. The English batter scored 29 before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja. In the second innings, Bumrah dismissed Root for the seventh time in Tests. The Yorkshire-based batter fell prey to him in the third innings of the ongoing opening Test in Hyderabad. 

Bumrah set the batter up before getting the better of him. Root departed after managing just two off six balls. Following that, Root even said he’s looking to battle with Bumrah throughout the series. Whenever Root walks into bat, Rohit is expected to bring in Bumrah from one end.

Tom Hartley vs Shubman Gill

image-ls3219ykGill has been struggling with the bat. (X.com)

Among all the batters in the first Test, Shubman Gill emerged as one of the least convincing. The No. 3 batter struggled, posting scores of 23 and 0, leading to criticism of both his technique and approach.

In the first innings, Gill seemed to retreat into a defensive mode, managing only two boundaries in a painstaking stint at the crease. His dismissal, spooning a simple catch to midwicket, was particularly disappointing.

 The second innings proved even more challenging as the 24-year-old attempted a shot at a delivery from Tom Hartley, resulting in a catch to silly point off the face of his bat. While Gill endured a forgettable outing, Hartley celebrated a memorable debut, securing nine wickets in the game. Notably, it was the left-arm spinner who dismissed Gill on both occasions in the match.

Gill, who had not faced Hartley before the first test, now appears destined to encounter him more frequently in the series, especially in the upcoming second Test.

Axar Patel vs Jonny Bairstow

image-ls38hequAxar Patel (X.com)

Bairstow faced a tough challenge against Axar Patel in the 2021 Test series in India, where he could only muster 14 runs in 44 balls, falling victim twice to the left-arm spinner. The echoes of that series may have haunted Bairstow as Axar dismissed him again, needing only 13 balls to do so.

In the first Test played at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Axar provided a crucial breakthrough by sending Bairstow back to the pavilion in the second session of Day 1. The left-arm spinner bowled an exceptional delivery, knocking down Bairstow's stumps after the Yorkshire batter had scored 37 runs. 

Axar's magical delivery sharply turned away, eluding the outside edge of Bairstow's bat and hitting the top of the off-stump with precision. The remarkable turn and accuracy left Bairstow visibly astonished.

Given Axar's past success against the right-hander, he enters the current encounter with heightened confidence. However, Bairstow, known for championing the Bazball ideology, adds an interesting dimension to the battle, making it compelling to see who will emerge victorious.

Ben Stokes vs Ravichandran Ashwin

image-ls31ryitRavi Ashwin (AP Photos)

It's evident now that Stokes struggles against Ashwin. In their previous encounters, Ashwin has bowled 623 deliveries to Stokes, giving away only 232 runs and dismissing him 12 times. Despite Stokes' reputation for aggressive play, he often finds himself adopting a more defensive stance against Ashwin, playing into the spinner's strengths. 

With an average of just 19.33 against Ashwin, Stokes has encountered difficulty countering the Indian spinner's cunning and skill. In the recent Test, Stokes fell victim to an exceptional delivery from Ashwin. The experienced off-spinner excels at bowling to left-handers, as reflected in his record. It will be interesting to see how Stokes responds to this ongoing challenge.

Rohit Sharma vs James Anderson

image-ls38p67bRohit Sharma (X.com)

After missing the first Test, Anderson has been included in the playing XI for the Vizag Test. Even though this will be the first game of the tour for Anderson, he’s not a newcomer to these conditions as he is on his sixth Test tour of India. Certainly, these are not unfamiliar conditions for him. He holds the record as the most successful visiting pacer with the most Test wickets on Indian soil.

With the new ball in hand, Anderson would be eager to have a go at the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. The Indian opener got starts, but he couldn’t convert them into big scores. The only positive from that game for Rohit was the way he played out the express pace of Mark Wood, who took the new ball in Hyderabad. 

Rohit will be looking to negotiate the first spell of Anderson, as he is very threatening with the new ball. With the old ball as well, Anderson will aim to reverse it and dismiss Rohit if he survives for too long. The Hitman Rohit has always managed to play out Anderson; statistics prove that. He has only scored 86 runs off 300 balls, having been dismissed twice in Test cricket.