England vs India 2018: India's predicted XI for the second Test

Another series. Another loss in the first match of a series. India head into the second Test match at Lord's next Thursday playing the chasing game. The opener at Edgbaston gave a glimpse that several players in the present Indian setup have the ability to stand up in English conditions, but seem to lack the finishing kick.

A four-day break between this game and the second Test provides a chance for India to reflect on the errors made in the first Test and learn from it and improve. For the team management, it gives some time to find a combination that can help the side win and get back in the series. So, it won't be surprising if the same batting line-up turns out for the next game.

Here is how India could shape up for the second Test at the Home of Cricket.

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Openers - Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan

One more lifeline for Shikhar Dhawan?

India have Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan vying for the two opener's slots and none of the three made a decent contribution in the first Test.

Murali Vijay has been India's number 1 opener in the longer formats for a while now and he is very crucial for Virat Kohli and co. in seeing off the new ball. He was done in by two good deliveries in the first Test and in all likelihood, he will retain his place in the XI for the second Test.

Though Shikhar Dhawan looked good early on in his innings on both the innings, he got out poking outside the off-stumps on both occasions. KL Rahul batted at number three ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara and was looking nervous in his brief stay at the wicket. He got out to a rash shot in the first innings and was dismissed by a cracker of a delivery from Ben Stokes in the second.

The team management has to take a call on the opening pair and have a tough task on their hands. Dhawan is likely to be given another chance before he faces the axe and could be opening the batting with Vijay at Lord's.

Middle-order - KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane

One more chance for KL Rahul?

KL Rahul batted at number 3 ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara in the first Test and hardly made a notable contribution. It will be interesting to see what the team management does when it comes to picking the crucial number 3 batsman. Pujara should ideally be reinstated into the playing XI but there are more chances that Kohli could persist with Rahul for one more match at least.

Skipper Virat Kohli, who was India's only bright spot with the bat in the first Test, will bat at number 4 while his deputy Ajinkya Rahane will take care of the number 5 spot. Rahane was far from his best in the Edgbaston Test and the team management will hope that the Indian vice-captain finds his form back at the venue where he scored a century in 2014.

Wicketkeeper and all-rounder

Hardik Pandya was good with the bat in the first Test

Wriddhiman Saha ruled out, Dinesh Karthik became the automatic first-choice wicketkeeper ahead of Rishabh Pant. He got out to a brilliant ball in the first innings and when his partnership with Virat Kohli was giving India some hope, he unnecessarily poked outside the off-stump and got out. His wicketkeeping, on the other hand, was nowhere up to the mark as he failed to collect the ball and often dived in front of the slip fielder and caused him some distraction.

Irrespective of that, Karthik will don the gloves ahead of Rishabh Pant at Lord's. Hardik Pandya, in spite of all the criticisms he faced in the first Test, batted well before getting out to a brilliant delivery from Sam Curran and poked outside the off-stump to hand England the victory in the second. He was at ease against the England pacers and was India's second best batsman in the first Test. Kohli should be using Hardik more often with the ball in the upcoming matches.

Spinner

R Ashwin was fantastic with the ball in Edgbaston

Before the start of the first Test, there were a lot of talks about Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav playing in the Test ahead of India's Test specialist R Ashwin. But, the offie has silenced his critics by picking up seven wickets in the Test and registered his career-best figures of 7/121 in a Test outside Asia.

Ashwin is all but a certainty to start the Lord's Test and Kohli will be expecting his lead spinner to improve on his record from the previous match and make some contributions with the bat as well.

Fast bowlers - Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav

India's pace spearhead

Ishant Sharma showed why he is the spearhead of this Indian bowling attack as he picked up five wickets in the second innings, including the ones of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. The pacer has been a different bowler since his Sussex stint and he will be leading the Indian attack once again at Lord's.

Jasprit Bumrah was expected to be fit for the Lord's Test but is yet to recover fully and is likely to be drafted into the playing XI. So, both Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will retain their places in the playing XI.

Shami looked good with the semi-new ball in the first innings but was wayward with the new ball in the second. Umesh, on the other hand, went for runs in the first innings and looked lethal in the second.