India have played just two T20Is in Chennai, where they boast a 50% record. They beat the West Indies there in 2018 and lost to New Zealand in 2012. England, meanwhile, have never played a T20I at the venue.
While there have only been two T20Is played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, there have been plenty of T20 games there in the IPL. Throughout the last 123 T20 games, the team batting second has won 50.4 percent of the games. With one tie and three no results, 46.3 percent of games have been won by the side that bats first.
The Chennai wicket favors the spinners a little more than the quicks, but there is something in it for everyone. The leading wicket-taker at the venue is left-arm spinner Sai Kishore (with 31 wickets) while Ravi Jadeja is second on the list with 29.
India v England | Second T20I | Saturday 25 January 2025 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 3:30pm
India
India is a team in great T20I form, they have currently won four of their last five games in the format.
India is the current T20 World Champions, and they played like that on Wednesday with a dominant performance. Arshdeep Singh ripped out the openers, leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel cleaned up the middle order while Hardik Pandya weighed in with a couple of sticks as well. At bat openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma broke the back of the task with Abhishek the standout hitting 79 from 34.
Mohammed Shami is back for India for the first time since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. He didn’t play in the series opener, and after the excellent performance from the home side in the opener there may not be any changes to the team, but Shami is sure to play at some point in the series and he will want to announce his return.
Ravi Bishnoi is India’s top-ranked bowler at the moment. He has played just 38 T20I and boasts an average of 18.75 – he went wicketless in Kolkata in the series opener, it seems unlikely that he will go two games in a row without a wicket.
England
England head into Saturday’s game without a T20I win in their last three games.
England’s Jacob Bethell came into the series on the back of an undefeated 62 in his last T20I. Big things were expected of him, but he looked all at sea in the series opener as he struggled his way to seven from 14 balls.
Jos Buttler was the shining light for England in the series opener as he stroked 68 from 44 balls in what was an otherwise dismal showing from the England batsmen. Buttler aside only two batsmen reached double figures – Harry Brook made 17 and Jofra Archer weighed in with 12.
The exciting Ben Duckett who opens the batting for England in Tests, opened in Kolkata alongside Phil Salt. It was his first time at the top of the T20I order in six years and it wasn’t a success. But he will open again in Chennai as England look to get their campaign back on track.
The return of Jofra Archer was another positive on a night of disappointments for England he bowled with pace and venom to remove Samson and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Archer returned figures of two for 21 in four.
While Archer was treated with respect, big Gus Atkinson was taken to with relish by Abhishek. Atkinson went for 38 in two overs.
Verdict: India
T20 is India’s bread and butter, and England are in their backyard. There was a gulf in class between the two sides in the first game, and while England will surely win a game (or even two) in the series, this one will be Indias.
