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

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Big Picture: England vs spin

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.

India WWWLW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England LLWWW

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.

Team news: Will Shami return to action?

Mohammed Shami, who is working his way back from ankle and knee issues, had missed the opening T20I. If he is fit and available for selection, India might have to rejig their attack. He was among the first batch of India players to train on Friday evening and, though he had protection on both his knees, he bowled in the nets, with bowling coach Morne Morkel keeping a close eye on him.

If Abhishek has to sit out, Dhruv Jurel could take his place.

India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Ravi Bishnoi/Mohammed Shami, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

Bethell reportedly missed training on Friday with illness and if he doesn’t recover in time, wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith could make his T20I debut for England. Smith had a stint with the gloves too on a humid afternoon. Carse, meanwhile, is set to replace Atkinson.

England (probable): 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jos Buttler (capt), 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jacob Bethell/Jamie Smith, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood

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.

Stats and trivia: Arshdeep on the brink of another milestone

“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

*The preview was updated after India’s training session

This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.
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