India is cruising towards a famous victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai in the 2nd PayTM Test against England. After England dominated India in the 1st Test, India replied back in style by scoring big in both innings and setting England an insurmountable target of 482 on a wearing and tearing raging turner. Earlier in the day, Ravichandran Ashwin brought up his fifth Test ton and his first against England. His swashbuckling knock consisted of flamboyant shots and a solid defence.He scored a Test ton and took a fifer in the same match for the third time in his career. Apart from Sir Ian Botham, no one has done this more often than Ashwin in the history of Test cricket. India needs just 7 wickets for victory. It is a mere formality. 

Match Preview

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Date: 13-17 February 2021

Time: 9:30 A.M. Local Time

The Pitch Report

The pitch is expected to aid spinners right from Day 1. Going by the looks of the pitch, it has a black soil layer on top of the traditional red soil. The pitch would not bounce much and batsmen will have to grind it out for long periods. Pacers need to resort to cutters, knuckle balls and reverse swing. 

Weather Forecast

The weather is expected to be humid in Chennai. There is a 12 per cent chance for rain. Temperatures will soar as high as 35 Degrees and dip as low as 25 Degree Celsius. The relative humidity is predicted to be 79 per cent. Also, winds will blow from the North-East direction to the South-West at a maximum speed of 17 kilometres per hour. 

Match XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad