The second and final Test between India and Sri Lanka is all set to get underway on Saturday (March 12). The match will be a day-night affair at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Having won the series opener by an innings and 222 runs in Mohali, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side is high on confidence and they will look to replicate the same dominance in the second Test as well.
Ahead of the pink-ball Test, the home team has also been bolstered by the return of spin all-rounder Akshar Patel, who was out of the game due to injury since December last year.
It is unlikely that the Indian team will experiment too much in the last Test as it is a crucial match keeping the World Test Championship (WTC) points in mind.
Team COC presents to you the Predicted Team India playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka.
The pair of captain Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal batted with intent in the first Test, and it is unlikely that India will disturb the opening combination for the second Test. While Rohit scored 29 in Mohali, Agarwal made 33 and the duo put on 52 runs for the opening wicket.
Hanuma Vihari, who replaced Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3, should retain his place in the line-up after his knock of 58 in the opening Test.
Virat Kohli may have failed to get a big score but he looked in his elements in Mohali and the former skipper will hold on to his No. 4 batting slot, followed by Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, who slammed a whirlwind 96 in first Test.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who smashed 175* and returned with nine scalps in the series opener, is a certain feature in the playing XI alongside R Ashwin, who scored 61 and took six wickets in Mohali.
With the return of Akshar Patel, who did wonders in his debut Test season with both ball and bat, Team India might make a change in their playing XI. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who was wicketless in the opening Test, is likely to make way for Akshar in the line-up.
In the fast bowling department, the hosts shouldn’t make any change with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami doing well in Mohali, sharing five wickets between them on a track predominantly assisting the spinners.
COC Predicted Team India playing XI for second Test:
Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akshar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
