🏏England tour of India 2025: 2nd T20I: 25/01/25 at 7:00 PM IST🏏

🏏England tour of India 2025: 2nd T20I at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 25/01/25 @ 7:00 PM IST🏏

Can England's batters find a way to test India's bowling depth?

For India, a large part of the focus will once again be on Mohammed Shami's fitness - will he finally be good to go?

England would have felt a sense of deja vu when they were skittled for 132 in the T20I series opener in Kolkata on Wednesday. In June 2024, in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Providence, they watched Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel return combined figures of 11-0-58-6. At Eden Gardens, they were trampled by Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel, who had combined figures of 5 for 67 in 12 overs. If the Chepauk pitch veers towards its usual spin-friendly nature - it went the other way at IPL 2024, with fast bowlers taking 74 wickets in 18 innings to the spinners' 25 - England could be in for another trial by spin. India also have other spin options in Washington Sundar (offspinner) and Abhishek Sharma (left-arm orthodox) at their disposal. There is a small question mark over Abhishek's fitness though; he seemed to twist his ankle during training on match eve, and was seen limping off the ground.*

Under Brendon McCullum in Test cricket, England have countered heavy defeats with their ultra-aggressive style of play. England's white-ball era under McCullum and Jos Buttler might have got off to a rickety start in Kolkata, but the message from the team management remains the same: "Be more aggressive and come back harder."

That might be easier said than done against India, who have a new-ball banker in Arshdeep Singh and a middle-overs squeezer in Varun. The likes of Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook will have to adapt quickly and back Buttler up if England are to test the depth of India's attack. On Wednesday, India didn't even need their sixth bowler.

They didn't need Nitish Kumar Reddy with the bat either as the top five polished off the chase of 133 inside 13 overs. England, though, will be buoyed by the sharp bursts from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. After having spent five months on the sidelines, Wood cranked it up to speeds north of 150kph. Besides generating similar high pace and steep bounce, Archer also dipped into his slower cutters for figures of 4-0-21-2. Gus Atkinson, who had a horror outing leaking 38 runs in two overs after struggling to 2 off 13 balls, will make way for Brydon Carse.

IND vs ENG 2nd T20I Pitch Report, Weather: Dew to favour chasing team at Chepauk

India vs England, IND vs ENG 2nd T20I MA Chidambaram Stadium Pitch Report And Chennai Weather Forecast Today Match: Suryakumar Yadav-led India will take on Jos Buttler's England in the second game of the five-match T20I series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.

India vs England 2nd T20I pitch report

The second T20I is set to be played on a fresh, black-soil pitch. In the last four years in night matches 12 out of 23 have been won by the team batting first. So there is no comfort to a toss bias that England can find. There are pitches, however, at the Chidambaram which are road-like. More than 200 in the first dig was notched three times in the 2024 IPL in eight games, one of those producing a win for both teams to score 220.

India vs England 2nd T20I weather report

The weather in Chennai for the 2nd T20I between India and England is expected to be mostly cloudy with a high of around 25°C. There is no chance of rain predicted, so the match should proceed without any interruptions.

When: Saturday, January 25 at 7:00 PM IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: Six of the nine IPL 2024 matches hosted at this venue were won by chasing sides, with an average first innings score of 170. With dew expected to play a role in the second half of the match, the decision for the captain winning the toss is obvious. However, pacers have tasted more success compared to spin during the last IPL, which could force a rethink in the team combination for the hosts.

In the spotlight: Varun Chakravarthy and Jamie Overton

Varun Chakravarthy and Chepauk share an incredible love story. Even before playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Varun had started his cricketing career as an IPL net bowler for Chennai Super Kings at the venue in 2018. Six years later, Varun won both the IPL and TNPL here, and he is now set to play his first international game at the ground, in front of his friends and family. He had rated his 3 for 23 at Eden Gardens a humble 7/10. Beware of the perfect ten, England.

At 6 feet 5 inches, Jamie Overton is a presence to reckon with for any opposition. He didn't have much to do with bat or ball in the first T20I, but his recent form in the Big Bash League (BBL) is encouraging: he finished unbeaten in seven of his nine innings, striking at 156.55, to go with 11 wickets for Adelaide Strikers. This is his chance to introduce himself to Chepauk before turning out for CSK at IPL 2025.

Teams watch

India

Why didn't Mohammed Shami play? This was a question raised by many after the first T20I in Kolkata, with the explanation being that the conditions favoured a greater emphasis on spin. However, given the recent success of pacers at Chepauk, this venue could be where Shami makes his international comeback following the 2023 World Cup. He seemed fine bowling during practice under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Morne Morkel. To bring Shami into the XI, India might leave out Ravi Bishnoi, leaving the spin department slightly short-staffed, or exclude Nitish Reddy which will make the tail longer.

Tactics & Match-ups: Ben Duckett's three dismissals to left-arm pace in four innings and Arshdeep's success in the powerplay in the previous game, makes the Indian left-arm seamer the clear choice to operate the bulk of his overs in the powerplay. Meanwhile, Brook has been a suspect against leg-spin, which will leave him exposed to Varun and Bishnoi, should the latter play. Left-arm spinners have had a lot of success against Jos Buttler (7 dismissals), Phil Salt (7) and Liam Livingstone (4), which brings Axar Patel into play.

Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami/Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

England

England announced one change from the last game, bringing in Brydon Carse for Gus Atkinson. Jacob Bethell reportedly did not turn up for practice on Friday due to an illness, and Jamie Smith has been added to the 12 should the need arise for his inclusion.

Tactics & Match-ups: Although he played a dazzling innings in the last match, Abhishek Sharma was tested by the pacers, especially by the short-of-length deliveries. England might attempt to do more of it in the second match, with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse able to generate good speeds. The change of pace worked well against Suryakumar and England would be well-served to try that, especially if the Indian skipper is looking to target the leg-side boundaries.

Probable XI: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Stats and trivia: Arshdeep on the brink of another milestone

• Arshdeep is three strikes away from 100 T20I wickets. If he gets there on Saturday, he will be the fastest fast bowler to the mark and third-fastest overall after Rashid Khan and Sandeep Lamichhane.
• Since the start of IPL 2024, Abhishek Sharma has a strike rate of 191.71 in powerplays in T20 cricket. Only Travis Head, his Sunrisers Hyderabad opening partner, has a better powerplay strike rate (195.71) in this period.
• England have played 12 T20Is against India in India, winning five and losing seven - three of those seven losses have come in a row.

Pitch and conditions: Dew could be a factor

The second T20I is set to be played on a fresh, black-soil pitch, and dew could favour chasing in Chennai. Another humid evening awaits both sides on Saturday.

Quotes

"He's obviously very experienced in India. He's done exceptionally well in the IPL and whenever he's played for England here. So it's really nice to watch him go out there and go about his business."

Harry Brook on his captain Jos Buttler

"The plan will be the same [against the England batters] and will see how they're going to approach me and it's all instinctive. Initially you have certain plan for certain batters, but if they're trying to do something different, it will be more instinctive.

Varun Chakravarthy on his game plan

Did you know?

- Chepauk has hosted only two T20Is till date and both were last-ball finishes. The first was in 2012 when New Zealand defeated India by one run while India beat West Indies by six wickets in 2018

- Arshdeep Singh is three wickets away from becoming the first Indian to reach the 100-wicket milestone in T20Is. Should be get those in this game, he'll become the third fastest to the landmark

- Jos Buttler averages 24.5 with a strike rate of 108.88 for his 98 runs in 4 innings in T20s in Chennai. Suryakumar has scored 347 runs in 11 innings here, at a strike rate of 130.94

Probable Best Batter:

Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Sanju Samson could be the best batter in the second T20I against the Three Lions. Samson created history in 2024 by becoming the first and only player to score three centuries in a calendar year. The right-hander looked in good touch in the opener, scoring 26 runs off 20 deliveries, which included a 22-run over against Gus Atkinson. Samson will hope to convert his starts to big scores, like he did in the Bangladesh and South Africa series.