CHENNAI, India, Feb 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Indian captain Virat Kohli won the
toss on Saturday and opted to bat in the second Test against England in
Chennai as they bid to level the four-match series in front of returning
fans.
Kohli said that it was a “good toss to win… Day one is going to be pretty
good for batting and we expect the pitch to get roughed up drastically from
day two onwards.”
All-rounder Axar Patel will make his debut for the hosts, who have left out
spinners Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav comes into the side, while fast-bowler Jasprit
Bumrah has been rested to be replaced by Mohammed Siraj.
England captain Joe Root said bowling first would be an “opportunity to
take early wickets.”
England left out first Test heroes James Anderson and Dom Bess, bringing in
Olly Stone to partner Stuart Broad in England’s pace attack while Moeen Ali
will share spin duties with Jack Leach.
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara,
Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav,
Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
England: Joe Root (capt), Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Ben
Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Moeen Ali, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Olly
Stone
Umpires: Nitin Menon (IND), Virender Sharma (IND)
TV Umpire: Anil Chaudhary (IND)
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)