India vs England: Visakhapatnam pitch 'might be good for a day or two', feels Ben Stokes

England captain Ben Stokes believes the surface for the second Test against India in Visakhapatnam would be ideal for batters in the initial phase. It would in stark contrast to the Hyderabad pitch which offered turn from the opening day and saw the visitors dismissed for 246 runs.

England won the opening Test of the five match series by 28 runs on the back of a match-changing 196 runs from Ollie Pope and seven-wicket haul by Tom Hartley.

“It might be a good wicket for maybe a day or two. But out here in India and other parts of the sub-continent, you tend to see it start to spin more and more as the Test goes deeper and deeper,” said the England skipper on the eve of the second Test.

“Even though it does look like there’s a little bit more moisture in there with the heat – and today is very hot again – any footholes and stuff like that might come into play the further the Test goes.”

“It might play a little bit better initially than it did last week, but we don’t like to go in with too many pre-conceived ideas, we like to have some kind of idea because obviously that’s how we pick the team. Then we just play what’s in front of us,” he said.

England have made two changes from the side that won in Hyderabad. James Anderson and Shoaib Bashir have come in at the expense of Mark Wood and injured Jack Leach. 20-year-old spinner Bashir arrived in India late because of visa issues and was not available for selection for the opener.

Anderson’s return would allow England to do what Jasprit Bumrah did for India with the old ball — getting reverse swing. Stokes said Anderson contributes to the team even when he is not playing.

“Bringing Jimmy’s experience, the class that he has, is great and I think it also goes under the radar how good his record in India is,” said Stokes on Anderson who has taken 34 wickets in 13 Tests in India, averaging 29.32.

“Considering what Jimmy is going for – ‘the swing king’ and all that – it just proves how good a bowler he is. He has different skillsets that I will be able to exploit in Indian conditions.

“It’s not just picking Jimmy for the new ball, it’s the other stuff he possesses as well. It’s great that Jimmy is doing good things for the old boys out there. It’s huge credit and lots of people should look up to Jimmy considering he is where he is at 41.”

Aiding the specialist spinners will be Joe Root who took five wickets in the Hyderabad Test including four in the first innings. Stokes revealed he was on a mission to mould a bowler out of premier batter Root, and the England skipper can afford himself a satisfactory chuckle seeing his venture coming to fruition.

Root got the ball to turn at a good pace and his straighter one also troubled the Indian batters. With Leach out of the second Test, Root is expected to shoulder more responsibility.

“I did always say to Joe I thought he under-bowled himself as captain, and when he walked off with four-fer I did say to him, ‘see, I told ya I’d make a bowler out of ya’.

“Having someone like that out here who is not only someone to throw the ball to and change the pace of the game up – he’s bowled me lots of overs, Joe has – then having him batting at four and the runs he’s scored and how important he is to us.

“To also have the benefit of Joe’s bowling out here is obviously massive. I’m surprised he’s not actually mentioned he’s nipped above me, but I think we’re just two people who don’t really care about stuff like that,” said Stokes on the eve of the second Test.

‘Zak, Ben at the top have been incredible’

Pope played the innings of his life to turn the game on its head after England opener Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett fired at the top of the order in the second innings. In fact, the duo provided a brisk start even on day one. Stokes was all praise for them.

“The combination that Ben and Zak have had for us at the top since they’ve become a partnership has been incredible. The way in which they set the tone for everybody else but also they way they put the bowlers under a serious amount of pressure with a new ball.

“A new ball is always the most difficult period, but consistently not only are they able to negate that but they’re also able to get the scoreboard rolling at a very, very good rate, which is a huge thing for our dressing room and our batting lineup as well.

“It’s pretty obvious there is a difference in height between the both of them and I think they complement each other very, very well. Balls that Zak plays on the front foot, Ducky plays on the back foot.

So it’s very tough for bowlers to settle into a rhythm and settle into a line of length against those two. One’s left-handed. one’s right. So the way in which they complement each other is brilliant,” said Stokes.

He also had encouraging words for young leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who picked up only two wickets in Hyderabad.

“Honestly, all I tell him is just think about taking wickets. I tell it to everybody, but Rehan in particular. Leg spinners I think need that and need to be made to not feel worried about any sort of anything else other than that.”

(with inputs from PTI)