Big Picture: England vs spin

England would have felt a sense of deja vu when they were skittled for 132 in the T20I series opener in Kolkata on Wednesday. In June 2024, in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Providence, they watched Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel return combined figures of 11-0-58-6. At Eden Gardens, they were trampled by Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel, who had combined figures of 5 for 67 in 12 overs. If the Chepauk pitch veers towards its usual spin-friendly nature - it went the other way at IPL 2024, with fast bowlers taking 74 wickets in 18 innings to the spinners' 25 - England could be in for another trial by spin. India also have other spin options in Washington Sundar (offspinner) and Abhishek Sharma (left-arm orthodox) at their disposal. There is a small question mark over Abhishek's fitness though; he seemed to twist his ankle during training on match eve, and was seen limping off the ground.*

Under Brendon McCullum in Test cricket, England have countered heavy defeats with their ultra-aggressive style of play. England's white-ball era under McCullum and Jos Buttler might have got off to a rickety start in Kolkata, but the message from the team management remains the same: "Be more aggressive and come back harder."

That might be easier said than done against India, who have a new-ball banker in Arshdeep Singh and a middle-overs squeezer in Varun. The likes of Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook will have to adapt quickly and back Buttler up if England are to test the depth of India's attack. On Wednesday, India didn't even need their sixth bowler.

They didn't need Nitish Kumar Reddy with the bat either as the top five polished off the chase of 133 inside 13 overs. England, though, will be buoyed by the sharp bursts from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. After having spent five months on the sidelines, Wood cranked it up to speeds north of 150kph. Besides generating similar high pace and steep bounce, Archer also dipped into his slower cutters for figures of 4-0-21-2. Gus Atkinson, who had a horror outing leaking 38 runs in two overs after struggling to 2 off 13 balls, will make way for Brydon Carse.

Form guide

India WWWLW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England LLWWW

In the spotlight: Varun Chakravarthy and Jamie Overton

Varun Chakravarthy and Chepauk share an incredible love story. Even before playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Varun had started his cricketing career as an IPL net bowler for Chennai Super Kings at the venue in 2018. Six years later, Varun won both the IPL and TNPL here, and he is now set to play his first international game at the ground, in front of his friends and family. He had rated his 3 for 23 at Eden Gardens a humble 7/10. Beware of the perfect ten, England.

At 6 feet 5 inches, Jamie Overton is a presence to reckon with for any opposition. He didn't have much to do with bat or ball in the first T20I, but his recent form in the Big Bash League (BBL) is encouraging: he finished unbeaten in seven of his nine innings, striking at 156.55, to go with 11 wickets for Adelaide Strikers. This is his chance to introduce himself to Chepauk before turning out for CSK at IPL 2025.