Daijiworld Media Network

Mumbai, Nov 23 : It's a lovely morning in Mumbai, ahead of the 2nd Test betwen India and England in this 4 match series. All eyes will be on Sehwag and Tendulkar, the former playing his 100th Test and the latter playing on a wicket that he knows like the back of his hand.

News coming from the English camp: Stuart Broad is fit. Panesar and Bairstow will replace Bresnan and Bell.

Pitch report by Ravi Shastri: Spinners will be licking their fingers here. Don't read too much into the grass, it is just to keep the English bowlers on the hook. If at all there is a chance of India playing three spinners, it should be done here. Dhoni has got what he has asked for. The captain would love to win the toss and bat first, put as many runs on board as possible. For all we know, the match might be over by Day 4.

The captains are walking out for the toss, going through their team sheets. The toss will be crucial, going by the pitch report. Let's find out what happens. Ravi Shastri and match referee Roshan Mahanama are out with the captains.

India have won the toss and elected to bat

Dhoni: 'We are looking to bat first, the first hour will be crucial. The wicket is fresh and there will be something for the fast bowlers early on. There is a bit of grass, but there is a lot of bounce on the wicket and it will assist spinners. They will have a major role to play. Team composition, Umesh is not fit, we have Bhajji coming in. It was a good match for us, of course, the bowlers had to do a lot of work there. Viru is fantastic, he is uncomparable. He is very special. Not to forget, he was a middle order batsman and for him to find success as an opener is great. Bowlers are scared of him.'

Cook: 'Historically, there has been more bounce here than the other wickets. It will be great to exploit that. It was good to bat well in the 2nd innings. Ian Bell has gone home, Bairstow replaces him. Panesar comes in for Bresnan'.

So, three spinner for India. It would have been a debatable decision had India lost the toss. But, Dhoni has found his lady luck again, as far as the toss is concerned. If their top order can see through the first hour, it will be another mammoth ask for the English to outperform India.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook(c), Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Bairstow, Samit Patel, Matt Prior(w), Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar

India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha

Match Preview :

England will look to fight back and draw the series when they take on hosts India at Mumbai for the 2nd Test. Having succumbed to a big defeat despite fighting efforts from skipper Alastair Cook and Matt Prior, England will be doubly determined to not be so easily run over by MS Dhoni's men and put up a show worthy of their recent rankings.

India:

India will be very happy with their showing in the first Test and will be keen to continue in the same vein. Their batting was top-notch while their bowling too lived upto its billing on a turning track.

Virender Sehwag's return to form and Cheteshwar Pujara's good run will give the hosts confidence of another good showing with the bat. There will however be concerns about the lack of form of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir and The team management will hope the two batting mainstays cash in, in Mumbai.

On the bowling front, the spinners managed apply a strangle hold against England's batting line-up, especially Pragyan Ojha. R Ashwin bowled well in the first innings but couldn't do much in the second, but he will remain a vital cog in India's plans of troubling the visitors. Dhoni will also be extremely happy with the performance of their pacers - Zaheer Khan pulled in all of his experience to keep their English batsmen on their toes while Umesh Yadav gave the England pacers a lesson or two on how to use pace to be a wicket-taking threat in India. Yadav however has been ruled out of the game and the team think-tank will hope Ishant Sharma, who is most likely to come in, ensures the Indians don't miss Yadav much.

England:

England had very little to cheer about in the first Test. They were thoroughly outplayed by a relentless Indian team and have a few concerns to address in almost every department.

England will be pleased with the batting efforts of Cook and Prior but the rest of the batting order came up a cropper. They will want the likes of Nick Compton and Kevin Pietersen among others to pull up their socks and perform to potential if they are to keep India at bay.

Bowling-wise, only Graeme Swann managed to trouble the Indian batsmen. The off-spinner used the conditions well and was a constant thorn in the flesh for the Indians, but without support from the other end it could be asking for too much from the spinner. England are likely to bring in left-armer Monty Panesar for the 2nd Test and they will hope his inclusion proves to be the shot in the arm they are desperate for.

Quotes:

MS Dhoni: The wicket looks good. If this pitch also does not help our spinners, then I will again come and criticise it. But it looks like a good wicket to start off. I was just trying to take the equation of the toss out. I was doing the good part. But different people have different opinion.

Alastair Cook: Clearly it was tough on confidence when you get beaten in a heavy manner. The beauty of the game is such quick turn around. Now we have got the chance and the opportunity to try and put it right. That is what we will have to do. We have to try and learn from last week and play well.

Final Word:

India will go into the match expecting another triumph. Their impressive showing in the last match should give the the required momentum to go in pumped and looking for another win. For England, the odds are stacked against them but they could be boosted by the news about the pitch and it offering some bounce. They will also know they have the experience and the players required to bounce back from a thumping defeat and will be hoping that India make the mistake of underestimating them.

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