India vs England Match Prediction: Who will win the 2nd T20I match?

For a team struggling against spin, Chepauk is more often than not a nightmare. England have no choice but to confront their weaknesses head on, and they will travel to Chennai for the second T20I against India on Saturday, January 25.

The surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium has been slightly unpredictable of late. While it's usually spin-friendly and offers a lot of help for cutters, it has been flat at times and even encouraged the fast bowlers to pitch it up at others. Nevertheless, with the visitors facing a stern examination in Kolkata, the curators are likely to be kind to the home team.

Harry Brook has spoken about smog making it hard to pick Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi. Even without any external factors making things difficult, Brook and Co. are bound to face a stern examination. They've made a change to their playing XI, with Brydon Carse replacing Gus Atkinson.

India, meanwhile, are sweating over the fitness of Abhishek Sharma, who twisted his ankle in training. If the opener isn't available, the Men in Blue might need to make their side even more unconventional, with them already fielding just one specialist quick in Kolkata.

India's squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

England's squad for the T20I series against India: Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook (vc), Phil Salt (wk), Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Mark Wood.

Can India continue their excellent run of form in T20Is? Or will England bounce back and level the scores?

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IND vs ENG 2025: Visitors gear up for Chennai test

India v England - 1st T20I - Source: Getty

Chennai is bound to throw up a bit of dew, particularly in the second innings. India had the fortune of bowling first in Kolkata, but the coin might not favor them in the second T20I. If it doesn't, their bowling combination could come back to beat them.

Taking the toss out of the equation, though, it's certain to say that India are better off at this point in time even if Abhishek isn't fit. The Men in Blue have a potent spin-bowling pair in the form of Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi, who won't be easy to counter at Chepauk.

England's middle order looks a bit brittle, and while their fast bowlers can all wield the willow, countering spin is a different challenge together. The form of key batters like Phil Salt hasn't been too encouraging either, adding weight to the belief that the visitors will struggle to post sizeable totals against quality bowling attacks.

Anything can happen in a game of cricket, and England have enough talent in their ranks to level the scores if they bat second. But India are the definite favorites for this encounter.

Prediction: India to win the 2nd T20I vs England.