The surface for the second Test here has not much grass and is darkish in nature. The expectations are that it would be a slow turner.
Such a pitch, India believes, would not put too much emphasis on toss. The track is bound better and the chances are it would not break up as the game progresses.
There was some good news for India on the injury front. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel batted and bowled without any discomfort, making light of the fitness concerns that kept him out of the first Test.
He is expected to come in for Shahbaz Nadeem in the eleven for the second Test. India, 1-0 down in the series, will have to do all the running.
Axar has been cleared to play the second Test. This also means left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who played the first Test, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, both came into the squad after Axar was injured, are now back among the standbyes.
The second Test gets underway at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
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