India vs Sri Lanka 2022: India predicted playing XI for 2nd Test

The second Test between India and Sri Lanka will be played from March 12 (Saturday) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After completely dominating the visitors by an innings and 222 runs in the opening Test in Mohali, the home-side will be confident to complete a white-wash in Bengaluru.

After completely thrashing Sri Lanka with both bat and ball in the first Test, skipper Rohit Sharma could be tempted to retain the same line-up. However, the left-handed all-rounder Axar Patel can possibly replace off-spinner Jayant Yadav who had made only two runs in batting and had gone wicketless after bowling a total of 17 overs in both innings. Apart from Jayant making way for Axar, the rest of the squad is expected to remain the same.

Predicted playing XI for second India vs Sri Lanka Test

Openers- Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal

After providing a quick start to the home side at their first innings, skipper Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal will have the responsibility of extending India’s dominance in the second Test right from the get-go. Both Rohit and Mayank were involved in a 50-run opening stand in the first Test. Captain Rohit was much of an aggressor between the two, making 29 runs off just 28 balls smashing six boundaries in the process.

Similarly, Mayank, who took a little time to settle at first, also scored freely once he had his eyes in. The 31-year-old played a knock of 33 runs in 49 balls while hitting five boundaries in his innings. Despite India getting a quick start by the duo reaching the 50-run mark inside ten overs, both openers got out within quick succession. Both Rohit and Mayank will look to rectify their mistakes and try to stitch a bigger opening-run stand in the second Test match.

Middle-order – Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer 

Indian batting middle-order took a liking of Sri Lanka’s bowling unit as two of them – Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant scored half-centuries, while Indian stalwart Virat Kohli fell just five runs short of his fifty. The right-handed batter Shreyas Iyer also had a start, but unfortunately, he could not convert it into a bigger one.

After both openers departed, Vihari and Kohli stitched a valuable partnership of 90 runs taking India’s score from 80/2 to 170/3. Just like the openers, both Kohli and Vihari fell in between five runs, leaving the home side at a score of 175/4. Kohli, who was playing his 100th Test match, got a peach delivery from spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and was bowled at a score of 45, while Vihari was cleaned up by pacer Vishwa Fernando at an individual score of 58 runs.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was then involved in a 50-run stand with Iyer. Both batters were looking comfortable at the crease before Iyer was caught in front of the wicket by Dhananjaya de Silva while Pant was dismissed just four runs short of his well-deserved century.

With 148 runs scored amongst the Indian middle-order batters before the all-rounders started to take the crease, the Indian heavyweights would like to better their performance at the batting-friendly M Chinnaswamy track. It is to be noted that Kohli has vast experience of playing in Bangalore, so there will be a strong chance that his long-standing century droughts ends in the second match of the series.

All-rounders – Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel

All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin ran a riot on the visitors during the first Test match and there might not be even a single thought in the management’s mind to change what isn’t broken. However, the left-handed all-rounder Axar Patel can possibly replace off-spinner Jayant Yadav who had made only two runs and had gone wicketless after bowling a total of 17 overs in both innings.

The duo of Jadeja and Ashwin was involved in a 130-run partnership helping India extend their dominance. Both the veteran all-rounders took the home side’s total across the 450-run mark. While player of the match Jadeja stroked a magnificent 175 off 228 balls remaining not-out as well, Ashwin also scored his half-century in the process.

Not only batting but both Jadeja and Ashwin shared a total of 15 wickets among themselves in both Sri Lankan innings, which tells us about the volume of impact the senior all-rounders had in the match. However, Jayant, who did not have much of a say in the first Test, could make way for Axar. The 28-year-old all-rounder has had a dream run in the longest format of the game, scalping 36 wickets in just five matches.

Bowlers – Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah 

Skipper Rohit Sharma would not like to tinker with the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Even though both Shami and Bumrah bowled a total of 38 overs in both innings of the first Test match, the pacers managed to scalp a total of five wickets.

Shami was more effective as compared to his partner, picking three wickets, while Bumrah scalped two wickets. With the second Test match to be played with the pink ball, the roles of both seamers will become more important as compared to the first match. The wicket at M. Chinnaswamy is also known to have some venom, especially with the new cherry and we might see the duo of Shami and Bumrah wreaking their havoc on the Sri Lankan top-order.