India scored 587 in the first innings of the second Test against England in Edgbaston, Birmingham, for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Captain Shubman Gill led from the front, scoring a record-breaking 269 runs off 387 deliveries, while Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (87) contributed significantly. At the end of Day 2, England had lost three wickets and added 77 runs. The tourists are lagging by 510 runs, and they will have their work cut out on Day 3.
Aakash Chopra believes India has scored a big enough score in the first innings, and the match might potentially result in a draw or a win for Shubman’s team.
The cricketer-turned-expert stated that a victory for England is unlikely in this situation.
“You have scored enough runs to feel like you are in a good position. Logically speaking, if we flip back the pages of Test cricket history, only one team, Team India, can win from here, or the match will be drawn. “England winning from here seems improbable,” Chopra stated on his official YouTube account.
However, Aakash Chopra emphasised the change of Test cricket in recent years and how teams, particularly England, have amassed runs at a rapid pace.
“However, things have changed dramatically because modern-day Test cricket has been played differently, the way people are approaching the game, and the speed at which it is going, and England is one side that does that,” he told me.
If you look at the conditions, pitches have become flatter: According to Aakash Chopra, England’s flatter surfaces have made it more conducive to batting. He also anticipated that the pitch for the third Test at Lord’s would be suitable for batting.
“The pitches have become flatter, whether you play at Headingley or Edgbaston. I’m saying you’ll get a flat pitch at Lord’s too. “The typical and traditional English conditions, in which you must play cautiously, are part of history,” he stated.
The former India opener also noted that the boundary sizes have been drastically reduced to encourage run-scoring.
“These are not that difficult conditions to bat. If you see the boundaries, the Edgbaston boundaries have been kept at 60 meters because Bazball encourages you to play shots in the air. Mishits should go for sixes, you should get fours easily, and the scoring rate should be fast,” Chopra observed.
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