England are on a high. Their rotation policy seems to be working wonders for the visitors - they have now won 6 consecutive matches in Asia. Joe Root has also won 26 Tests as England captain and equaled the record of Michael Vaughan. Another victory in Chennai and Root goes down as the most successful captain in England's Test cricket history. He does not need more motivation!
IND vs ENG Live score: It is as high stake a match as India has played at home in recent history. If they lose, a series win is out of bounds and their hopes of making it to Lord's for the final of the World Test Championship are also gone. It would also mean a five-Tests losing streak for Kohli, the skipper and pressure would mount on him to deliver and questions will be raised about his captaincy in the format.
India has not found themselves in such a situation many times in the recent past at home in Test cricket. Such has been their domination that they have annihilated visiting teams batting them out of the match and bamboozling their line-ups with high quality spin. For the first time in many years (after Australia 2017) India have been challenged in their home fortress.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the India vs England 2nd Test at Chennai
India vs England Live Score, 2nd Test at Chennai, Day 1:
PREVIEW: India and England will most likely be playing on a fairly different pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai when the second Test of the four-match series gets underway on Saturday (February 13). England won the first Test by 227 runs but it wasn’t until the fourth day when the red-soil Chepauk pitch started offering sharp turn. However, with India down 0-1 in the four-match series, the hosts would like to play to their strengths in the upcoming matches. It isn't just a series win that is at stake, it is also a place in the inaugural World Test Championship final that is set to take place at Lord's later this year.
ALSO READ - IND vs ENG 2nd Test: How to watch India vs England Today's match on Disney+ Hotstar
The pitch for the first Test was made up purely of red soil and there was no disintegration in it until later on in the match. However, the surface for the second Test will have a top layer comprising black cotton soil while the base is made up of red soil.
Shoudld the playing conditions be dry when the Test match begins, the top layer - made up mostly of black clay - will start to break faster than the pitch where the first Test was played. England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who is set to don the big gloves in the second Test against India, has already said that he feels the fresh Chepauk track will keep low and might start offering turn earlier compared to the series opener at the same venue. Asked how did the pitch look, Foakes said on Thursday: “It’s different to the last one. It’s a different soil and darker soil.
I think it might be quite low and slow. But I haven’t had a lot of experience with wickets but that would be my guess.” To a query if the pitch would offer turn earlier than usual, he replied: “I found it quite tricky to read the wicket. I found in India obviously that’s (turners) an avenue they would like to go down.
| Rank | Team | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 6877 | 275 |
| 2 | Australia | 6800 | 272 |
| 3 | India | 10186 | 268 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 7516 | 259 |
| 5 | South Africa | 5047 | 252 |
| FULL Ranking | |||
