INDvENG: India win toss, opt to bat in 2nd Test; Patidar to debut, Siraj rested

Visakhapatnam, Feb 2 (IANS) India have won the toss and elected to bat first against England in the second Test match here at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Friday.

India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed a debut for Rajit Patidar, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar also came in for injured KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja.

Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj has been rested for second Test. "The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and the amount of cricket he has played in recent times," the BCCI said.

"Siraj will be available for selection for the third Test in Rajkot. Avesh Khan has re-joined the team for the 2nd Test," it added.

After winning the toss, Rohit said: "We'll bat first. Looks a good pitch, the pitch will do its thing, we need to play good cricket. What happened in Hyderabad is history, we need to move on. We have spoken on things we need to do, now we need to execute on our plans. I thought we batted well in the first innings, but didn't have the same intent.

"Similarly, in the second innings with the bowl there was a brilliant knock by Ollie Pope. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, but that's why we have the guys sitting on the bench."

On the other hand, England captain Ben Stokes said: "Would have batted as well. It was a great last week, but we know India will come back hard. To come from behind like we did was very pleasing. We'll take the confidence from that, but new week now. It is an amazing atmosphere to play in for the boys. To get such an opportunity at the start of their career will do wonders for their confidence.

England had announced their playing XI on Thursday with two changes - Shoaib Bashir and James Anderson come in for Jack Leach and Mark Wood.

Playing XIs:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson