India vs England: 3 crucial factors which might determine the fate of the second test

England thrashed India by 227 runs in the first test in Chennai in one of the most dominant performances in recent times by a foreign team on Indian soil. After that wonderful performance, England will have extra motivation to repeat the act in the second test, which starts on 13th February at the same venue, and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

However, India will look to bounce back strongly just as they did against Australia in the recently concluded test series Down Under. The home team suffered their fourth straight loss under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, and will definitely try to reverse their fortunes.

We now take a look at the three crucial factors which might determine the fate of the second test:

#1. Winning the toss:

Winning the toss would be vital for both the teams, as it would provide either of them with an opportunity to bowl in the 4th innings. The Chennai track was a batting paradise on the first day of the first Test and offered very little assistance to the quick bowlers. It remained a very good pitch to bat on till the end of the 3rd day, and only started to deteriorate from the 4th day onwards.

England got the rub of the green in the first Test as Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat first. India have now lost the toss in the last few test matches that they have played, and will definitely hope for better luck on Saturday morning. Neither side will want to bat last on a turning track.

2. India’s bowling combination:

Kuldeep Y

Each of the three Indian spinners conceded a lot of runs in the first innings, when England put up a mammoth total of 578. Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem conceded more than 150 runs each and were put to the sword by Joe Root, Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes. Nadeem might be replaced by Kuldeep Yadav, the young left-arm wrist spinner who has featured in only 6 tests for India so far.

However, Kuldeep’s inclusion would also mean that all three spinners turn the ball into right-handed batsmen and away from the left-handers, and it would definitely make the spin attack a bit one-dimensional. Nadeem typically turns the ball away from the right-hander and bowled better in the second innings than the first; so it might not hurt to give him another opportunity.

There have also been talks of Hardik Pandya replacing Washington Sundar, who again performed creditably with the bat but was not convincing enough with the ball. Pandya hits the deck hard with an upright seam and could prove to be an important bowler as the pitch disintegrates and the ball gets older. Still, one feels that Sundar’s heroics with the bat might earn him another opportunity in the second test.

#3 India’s much-vaunted batting line-up coping against a versatile English attack:

James Anderson

The mighty Indian batting capitulated meekly against the English attack in the first test, and the home team would definitely want to change things in the second test. Had it not been for the rearguard action from Sundar and Rishabh Pant in the first innings, the defeat could have been much worse. The Indian batsmen struggled against the swing of Anderson and the pace of Archer. They also could not cope with guile of the relatively inexperienced spin duo of Dom Bess and Jack Leach.

Leach, who bowls with a side-on action and generates a good loop, also managed to turn the ball a lot, and removed Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara with two beauties in the second innings. He would be difficult to negotiate with on a wearing pitch. Bess bowled with more control, and was more economical. Moreover, Anderson’s reverse- swing was too good for the Indians in the second innings.

In order to turn things around, Pujara and Kohli would again have to be in the thick of things. They managed to score 70-odd runs in the first and second innings of the first test, respectively. Shubman Gill would have to curb his attacking instincts to try to convert his half-centuries into centuries and Rohit Sharma would have to strengthen his defensive technique, especially against the deliveries leaving him. It would not be an easy task and the ensuing battle should be an absorbing one.