England and India continue their ongoing rivalry this week when they meet in the second of the five match Test series with this game coming at the wonderful venue that is Lord’s, where both sides will be looking to move ahead in the series.
Both teams have a week off after this match and after a rain affected draw at Trent Bridge, they will both be eager to get the job done here and set themselves up nicely for the remainder of the series later in the month.
England
All the issues that England have had in Test match cricket for probably the last two years if not more were all there for all to see in the opening game. The biggest problem they have is finding a batting order that is going to score them big runs as all too often they flatter to deceive and even when they do look like they are in a decent position they go on and collapse and undo any hard work that has been built up in an innings.
The other problem England are encountering more and more as Test cricket goes on is they can’t take advantage of the chances they do create. That is probably pressure of knowing that each one has to be taken because they are not putting up the sort of scores they would want to but whatever it is it is something they urgently need to improve on. The one positive for England is they continue to be on song with the ball but they still need runs if they are to prosper.
India
We saw a lot of why India are becoming so good in this format of the game in that opening Test match. I don’t think conditions helped them all that much but they were well in control when the rain denied them the chance to win the match on the final day. They need to beware of an England backlash as England tend to get better the longer a series goes on, but at the same time a repeat of their display in Nottingham will give them every chance here.
The positive for India is that they were so on top at Trent Bridge even though two big players in Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli offered little in the contest. There is absolutely no way those two are going through the series without making telling contributions each so India have the confidence that their best is still to come. The Indian bowling looks very good though and that too is probably only going to get better with the more matches they play.
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Team News
England will be forced into changes for this second Test match with Stuart Broad now ruled out of the series and Jimmy Anderson a major doubt for this match. Moeen Ali is expected to come into the side while Saqib Mahmood could be handed a Test debut after being called up as cover.
India are also going to have to make a change as Shardul Thakur has been ruled out through injury. That might open up the spot that India need to bring R Ashwin back into the fray. They are expected to stick with KL Rahul for this match and keep Mayank Agarwal for later in the series.
Betting
I’m going to keep things simple for this match because there is a lot of ways England can line up and we don’t really know for sure how they will structure the side. There isn’t any rain in the forecast to save them here though so I’m expecting an India win regardless of how England put their XI together for this match. England just don’t put enough runs up on the board and if they are without both prongs of their new ball attack this could be a long match for them.
India look to have no issues at all and the hot and dry conditions are likely to bring both their spinners into the game. We saw in India the damage their spinners can do in helpful conditions. India look to have a better batting line up and with England having to mix and match when it comes to the bowlers you would have to think India will be no worse than the hosts in that department too. That all adds up to India winning this one for me in a match where a result is near enough guaranteed.
Tips
Back India to beat England for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with William Hill
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