Wed Jul 02 10:00:00 UTC 2025: **India Opts to Bat First in Second Test Against England at Edgbaston**

**Birmingham, UK –** England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second Test of the Tendulkar-Anderson series at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday.

India’s playing XI includes Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep, with Jasprit Bumrah notably absent. Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur, who played in the first Test, are also out of the squad.

Following a 5-wicket defeat in the first Test at Headingley, the Indian team is aiming for a comeback victory. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings for India.

Edgbaston has historically been a challenging ground for India, with seven losses and one draw in eight previous Test matches. Teams batting second have found success recently, with the last four Tests at this venue won by the chasing side, including England’s record run chase against India in 2022.

However, spin bowlers have found limited assistance at Edgbaston in recent years. Since 2020, it has been the third-worst of England’s seven Test venues for spinners, with fast bowlers averaging a wicket every 30 runs compared to spinners’ 44.45.

Weather forecasts predict rain on the fourth and fifth days of the Test.

**India’s Playing XI:** Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

**England’s Playing XI:** Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir

**Edgbaston Test History: India vs. England**

* **Matches Played:** 8
* **England Wins:** 7
* **India Wins:** 0
* **Draws:** 1

**Key Edgbaston Stats:**

* **Highest Score:** England – 710/7 dec (vs. India, 2011)
* **Lowest Score:** Pakistan – 72 (vs. England, 2010)
* **Highest Successful Run Chase:** England – 378/3 (vs. India, 2022)

The pitch is expected to favor batsmen, with an average first innings score of 334 in the last 10 Tests. Fast bowlers have historically dominated at Edgbaston, taking 490 wickets since 2000 at an average of 31 runs per wicket. England has opted for only one spinner, Shoaib Bashir.

Joe Root needs 73 runs to reach 3000 Test runs against India.

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