India lock horns with England in the 2nd Test match of this 5-match Test series, starting from 2nd February 2024. The match will be taking place at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium and is slated to begin from 9:30 AM (IST).
The hosts had lost the 1st Test match by 28 runs and that has raised several eyeballs. India would be eyeing a redemption and would be looking to exorcise their ghosts in Hyderabad.
Led by Ben Stokes, England played an attacking brand of cricket and staged a comeback in the 1st Test match. Despite having a deficit of 190 runs post the 1st innings of both the sides, England kept their nerves and played a good brand of cricket.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why India might lose the 2nd Test, which is slated to begin from 2nd February 2024:
1. India will be missing their key players
Several key players in the form of Virat Kohli, Mohammad Shami, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will not be available for the 2nd Test match of this series. While Kohli has opted out for personal reasons, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja because of a right quadricep pain and hamstring injury, respectively.
Mohammad Shami on the other hand hasn’t attained Test match fitness and isn’t part of India’s squad. These are major blows to India and facing off a strong Test side like England seems like an arduous task for India.
2. The reverse sweep conundrum
The English batters have found a unique way to counter-attack the Indian spinners. Reverse sweep was one of their primary weapons whenever, the Indian spinners were on song.
Ollie Pope, who had played a match-defining innings of 196 runs in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test, played the reverse sweeps on a lot of occasions. Ben Duckett too employed this technique and it paid rich dividends to the side led by Ben Stokes.
3. India’s batters aren’t in form
Most of the Indian batters have been woefully out of form and this has been a major concern for the Rahul Dravid-coached Indian cricket team. Shubman Gill has been jeopardising the truckload of opportunities he has been getting.
Shubman has scored only 142 runs in 9 innings in the number 3 position, having replaced Test veteran, Cheteshwar Pujara. He managed to score 23 and 0 in the previous Test.
Shreyas Iyer too has been under the scanner. The captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has failed to notch up a fifty in his last 10 Test innings and this is a big worrying sign for India.
Also read: IND vs ENG: Joe Root Sheds Light On Playing A Perfect Reverse Sweep
