India will face England in the second T20I at the Chepauk in Chennai on Saturday (Jan 25). The hosts drew first blood in the five-match series with a seven-wicket win in Kolkata. Heading down south for the next game, where the wicket usually assists spinners, the ones in the Indian camp must be licking their lips. Besides, England must be hoping for an improved outing, especially with the bat.
Here is the match preview and result prediction of the second T20I between India and England.
Match Preview
India ticked all boxes in a thumping win at the Eden Gardens. From Arshdeep Singh to Varun Chakaravarthy (Player of the Match) to opener Abhishek - everyone performed brilliantly, helping India take a 1-0 lead in this marquee series.
Though the conditions assisted the seamers upfront in Kolkata, with Arshdeep returning with two wickets inside the Powerplay and surpassing Yuzvendra Chahal to become India’s leading wicket-taker in this format, the dryness on the pitch made it tougher for the English batters, with Varun and Axar Patel bagging five wickets among them.
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Harry Brook, however, blamed ‘Kolkata smog’ for England’s dismal show against spin.
In the bowling department for the visitors, the seamers had a mixed outing, with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood impressing with sheer pace, though the rookie opener Abhishek punished them with a match-winning 79 off 34.
While India is unlikely to change its batting order for the Chennai game, it remains to be seen if the management brings in Mohammed Shami for his first India match since the ODI World Cup final in November 2023. Given that Arshdeep had a ball in the series opener and three spinners already making the right noises, the home side might stick with a similar playing XI.
On the other hand, England confirmed at least one change for the second T20I, bringing in seamer Brydon Carse for Gus Atkinson in Chennai; England also added gloveman Jamie Smith as a cover backup for Jacob Bethell, who missed Friday’s training as he was unwell.
Result Prediction –
Despite England wanting to go an extra yard to square the series, India, with their spin attack, will enter the contest as favourites.
Predicted Playing XIs –
India – Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy
England – Phil Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (captain), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid and Brydon Carse