England entered the first test against India as betting underdogs and defied their betting odds to outplay India and secure a comfortable victory by 227 runs. However, the sportsbooks are still favouring India for the second test.
Bet365 currently has India as the favorites with odds of 8/11 and England as underdogs with odds of 13/5. The odds for a drawn test currently stand at 4/1. If you would like to wager on the second test at Bet365, you can do so below.
Why Are England Still The Underdogs?
The main reason that sportsbooks continue to have England as the underdogs is because they believe that India played badly in the first test and allowed England to win. The second test will also take place in Chennai and bookmakers are betting on the fact that lightning does not strike twice in the same place – atleast not in the space of two weeks.
Bookmakers expect India to learn from their mistakes in the first test and come out with all guns blazing. India are expected to adapt and be better prepared for this England side and square the series after the second test.
The big question is whether England will be able to repeat the heroics of the first test. Will England be able to play so well, if they lose the toss and end up batting second?
What England Must Do To Win
England are likely to retain the same playing XI that won them the first test in Chennai, provided none of the players get injured in the lead up to the second test which starts on Feb 13. England would dearly like to win the toss again and bat first as it will put the Indian bowlers under immediate pressure as they sent down a lot of overs in the first test.
England will once again need to perform collectively as a unit with both bat and ball. Any batsman who gets set, needs to go on and make a big score like captain Joe Root did in the first test. England must also get the ball reversing and look to pick up wicket with both pace and spin.
The big advantage for England going into this test is that they will be high on confidence and know that the pressure is on the home side. England must use this to get under the skin of the Indians and see if they can go 2-0 up after the second test.
What India Must Do To Win
Virat Kohli and his team are under pressure after losing the first test in four years on home soil. The performance with bat and ball was unacceptable in Chennai and India will be keen on leveling the series 1-1.
India could end up making a change to their bowling lineup. S Nadeem could make way for K Yadav who will be able to extract more spin from the pitch with his wrist spin. Head coach R Shastri also needs to come up with a better plan on how to get Joe Root out quickly as he is England’s best batsman.
India also need more runs from their senior batsmen. R Sharma and A Rahane are under pressure and both of them need to fire in the second test. If these two have another failure in Chennai, the pressure is going to be heavy on C Pujara and V Kohli.
Virat Kohli put up a brave front after the first test loss and said that the team accepts defeat but was going to put it behind him and prepare for the next challenge.
While we backed England to win the first test, we agree with the bookmakers this time and believe India will bounce back and win the second test.
