3 things England need to do right to beat India in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test ft. Chris Woakes 

England are a much-more settled camp after their historic win against India in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. While the visitors are deliberating multiple changes to their playing XI, along with handling Jasprit Bumrah's workload, Ben Stokes calmly named the same side for the second Test as well.

There was the prospect of Jofra Archer potentially making his red-ball comeback, but his return has been delayed. Thus, the onus is on the same combination to deliver the result against, and potentially help England claim a near-unassailable 2-0 lead in the series at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

With a settled and imperious batting unit, a bowling unit that punched above their weight recently, and an insecure Indian camp, England have the means, motive, and opportunity to be favorites, and play like it.

On that note, let us take a look at three things England need to do right to beat India in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test.

#1 Chris Woakes needs to find rhythm and the right length on his home turf

Veteran seamer Chris Woakes was good in patches during the series opener, but being the spearhead of the bowling attack demands a lot more. Luckily for the pacer, he has an opportunity to be back at his best as familiar conditions are in store for him.

Woakes is more than familiar with Edgbaston, having been born in Birmingham, and playing for Warwickshire since 2006. If the wicket proves to be a flat one, his experience and expertise could be the X-Factor, giving the England bowling attack the edge over their Indian counterparts, especially if Bumrah does not play.

In the three Tests that he has played at the venue, he has taken 13 wickets at an average of 24.54, and he has never gone wicketless across those six innings. If he can get the ball to swing, he can inflict a serious crack in India's top order, which has been their brightest spark so far.

More so than swing, Woakes has often relied on wobble seam to make an impact. It did not make a staggering influence in the first Test, but if he manages to extract more from a familiar surface, it could make a massive difference for his side.

#2 Avoid being pinned down by the spinners

All signs indicate that India will potentially field multiple spinners in their playing XI. Whether that candidate be Washington Sundar or Kuldeep Yadav, England can be sure of the fact that run-scoring would not be against their level of accuracy and their respective skillset.

England had the luxury of freebies from Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in the series opener, which they capitalised on as well. But multiple spinners offer much more control for India, and if they manage to keep the England batters on a leash with a tight spell, they will be forced to take risks against the pacers, given their approach.

As a result, the hosts stand to lose wickets if they are forced to take undue risk against the pacers, just because spinners pinned them down. This is why their batters must be more proactive against the spinners, and not let them dictate the pace of play.

It is to be noted that Ravindra Jadeja was the most economical bowler for India in the first innings of the first Test. However, England did not feel the pressure as they were scoring freely against India's support bowlers. Even if there is not a lot of purchase for the spinners initially from the wicket, the Indian spinners have the potential to restrict the opposition with their accuracy, and bring the fast bowlers into the game.

#3 Be aggressive against the under-pressure Indian lower-order

The twin collapses served England a long way in the first Test, and although India might look to reinforce their lower order at the expense of their bowling, they are still susceptible to crumbling. With a tail-wiping specialist like Josh Tongue and a candidate like Brydon Carse who can unleash a bouncer barrage, the pressure will be on India's tail to hang on.

In what promises to be yet another high-scoring encounter, the difference in batting quality of the lower order might make a difference once again. If India's tail crumbles yet again, while England's lower order wags and chips in to stretch the total, that would put a lot of pressure on Shubman Gill and co.

Whatever combination India proceeds with for the clash, they are bound to have a long tail as they do not have candidates who can stay defiant at the crease among their pacers. England, on the other hand, have Woakes and Carse coming in after their pure batters and wicket-keeper. The pair have proven that they are not mucks with the bat, and have made opposition bowlers work hard for their wickets.

To make the most of that luxury, they must ensure that India's lower-order is unable to hang around, as they have done on sporadic occasions in the past. Aggressive fields, and unsettling the tail-enders with uncomfortable bouncers and mixing up the lengths should be the go-to approach to orchestrate another collapse.