England vs India 2021: 2nd Test Ideal Predicted Playing 11 for Both Teams

England vs India 2021: Injured Shardul Thakur ruled out as we look at the ideal predicted playing 11 for the 2nd Test for Team India. 

Updated: August 12, 2021 // 15:30 IST. 

England vs India 2021: 2nd Test Actual Playing 11 for Team India:

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj. 

England vs India 2021: 2nd Test Actual Playing 11 for England:

Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Haseeb Hameed, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson & James Anderson.

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Please note, the article has been updated after the recent injury confirmation of Shardul Thakur. 

Team India’s tour of England 2021 didn’t get off to a positive start. In what looked like Team India would take a 1-0 lead in the 5 match Test series, an unfortunate scene of events, thanks to Rain god saw the first Test match ending in a bizarre draw. With that, the WTC 2021-23 cycle kicked off in the most boring fashion. 

Talking about the first Test, Team India were excellent in most of the areas with good contributions from the openers, lower-order, and pacers. But it was the famous middle-order trio of Pujara, Kohli, and Rahane that gave poor returns. Barring them, Team India looked like an unbeatable side. 

The focus would now shift to the Home of Cricket, Lord’s where the second Test match would be played. It was the same ground that would have hosted the WTC 2019-21 final, but due to bio bubble arrangement issues, the final was shifted to Southampton. 

So, as we move to the second Test match, what could be the ideal playing 11 for Team India? Will India retain the same playing 11, or they will sneak in a few surprises? Let’s find out in this article. Before that, let’s skim through Team India’s squad for the Test Series. 

India vs England 2021 – Team India’s Official Test Squad 

Batsmen: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul (WK), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (WK), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli (C) & Wriddhiman Saha (WK)

All-rounders: Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja

Bowlers: Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur & Umesh Yadav

Openers: Rohit Sharma & KL Rahul

Team India surprised everyone with the opening partner choice for the first Test match. KL Rahul was selected in the squad as a middle-order batsman, but due to the absence of injured Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, KL was preferred above Vihari and Easwaran for the opening slot alongside Rohit Sharma. 

KL did a fantastic job as he ended the first match as the leading run-scorer in both innings. He batted with conviction and showed tremendous patience during his stay at the crease. Even if Mayank is fit, Team India would be compelled to play KL as the opener alongside Rohit, who was good too.

Middle-order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C) & Ajinkya Rahane

The entire focus in the second Test match would be on the misfiring middle-order trio of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. The trio has been struggling for form since 2020, and would need to bring in their A-game to make India a dominant team.

Lord’s is also the ground where Ajinkya Rahane is the only current Indian player to have scored a century. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is yet to make an International century since Nov 2019. That’s almost 2 years since the last century against Bangladesh. All eyes would also be on Pujara, who has been the worst performer among the three.

Wicket-keeper: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant kept wickets brilliantly in the first Test. His two outstanding catches off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah were a treat to watch. He did play a quick-fire cameo of 25 in the first innings, but India would need their star wicket-keeper to give better returns with the bat. 

Spin All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravindra Jadeja played as the solo spin-bowling all-rounder in the first Test match. But with Injured Shardul Thakur out of contention for the second Test, Ravichandran Ashwin is most-likely to replace him. Also, with the slow over-rate penalty that both the teams faced, India can’t take risk of playing 4 fast pacers at once. 

Pacers: Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami & Jasprit Bumrah

The pacer category shall see 1 major change if the fit and healthy Ishant Sharma is available to play. Ishant missed the first due to fitness issues, but has been practicing hard since yesterday. Moreover, Ishant has also been very successful here at Lord’s. Team India’s famous victory at Lord’s in 2014 was due to Ishant Sharma’s career-best spell of 7/74.

Being the most senior pacer, Ishant’s addition will boost Team India’s attack further. So, If Ishant Sharma is available then Mohammed Siraj will have to miss out. Siraj was also not very instrumental in the first Test. While he bowled his heart out, he didn’t get much success. 

England vs India 2021: 2nd Test Ideal Predicted Playing 11 for Team India:

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma & Jasprit Bumrah.

England could see a few changes in the squad given their batting performance. Zak Crawley could be dropped, and Ollie Pope could return. Root also hinted at playing Moeen Ali in the squad If that happens, Daniel Lawrence could be dropped. 

England vs India 2021: 2nd Test Ideal Predicted Playing 11 for England:

Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (C), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson & James Anderson

Thanks for reading! What’s your predicted playing 11 for the 2nd Test vs England for Team India? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

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