02-07-2025
India vs England Live Score, 2nd Test Day 1: Will Jasprit Bumrah play in Birmingham?
Birmingham woke up under a thick grey blanket this morning — and it doesn't look like it's coming off anytime soon. The weather has been stubbornly overcast since early hours, and as we creep closer to toss time, so does the growing chance of a delay. Classic English summer, isn't it?
With showers lurking around the forecast and cloud cover hanging heavy, don't be surprised if we get a few frustrating interruptions mid-game too. The seamers might be smiling, but fans? Not so much.
06:38 here in Edgbaston and it's grey overhead.
It is expected to remain like this for rest of the day. #ENGvsIND #TestCricket #Birmingham
— Amrit Pradhan (@amritpradhan63) July 2, 2025
Following Yashasvi Jaiswal's underwhelming outing in the slip cordon during the opening Test, team management could to be reconsidering his fielding position. On the eve of the second Test, both Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill were seen undergoing slip-catching drills — a possible indication of a shuffle in the cordon.
Jaiswal, notably, was absent from these slip-fielding sessions and hasn't been spotted training in that area since. It's understood that he may be repositioned to the gully region for the second Test.
The weather in Birmingham could be their biggest challenge. With rain expected during key phases of play, especially on Days 1, 4, and 5, both teams will need to be sharp with time management and tactical decisions. The toss could prove decisive under heavy cloud cover, and early movement might tilt the balance in favour of the bowlers — a stark contrast to the batter-friendly conditions at Headingley.
With such a stop-start pattern likely, rhythm could be hard to find, especially for bowlers looking to build pressure or batters trying to settle in. Captains may need to rethink their approach: managing bowlers' workloads, staying aggressive with declarations, or even reshuffling batting orders to adapt to shortened sessions. Every dry hour will be gold, and whichever side adapts faster to the weather's unpredictability could steal the edge. Expect urgency, risk-taking, and possibly a few bold moves as both teams race against not just each other, but the clock and the clouds.
Welcome to Edgbaston — England's fortress and India's long-standing headache. In eight attempts here, India have never won. Their last decent memory? A draw in 1986. Their most haunting? The 2022 heartbreak when Root and Bairstow chased 378 with ease — the unofficial birth of Bazball.
This year's pitch has all the classic English ingredients: 11mm of grass, a dry base, and cloudy skies. Seamers should have a party on Day 1, with history backing the bowl-first call — 23 of 56 Tests here have been won by the team bowling first.
But things shift quickly here. Day 2 and 3 get better for batters, and by Day 4 and 5, if there's play, spinners might come into the game. India could back Kuldeep or Washington to make the most of those late overs.
Will India finally break their Edgbaston curse? The surface might just have a say.
The biggest question ahead of the toss isn't just about the weather — it's whether Jasprit Bumrah takes the field. With reports suggesting he might only play two of the remaining four Tests, India have a serious call to make. Rest him now, or go all in when the series hangs in the balance?
Then comes the rest of the bowling puzzle. Do they roll the dice with Kuldeep Yadav for extra bite? Or stick with depth in batting and play it safe?
On a pitch expected to flatter batters, India can't afford to play it safe. They need bowlers who can win them matches — not just hang around with the bat.
Let's be honest — this isn't the greatest time for India to walk into Edgbaston. They're trailing 0-1 in the series, still licking their wounds from that bruising defeat at Headingley, and oh — they've never won a Test here.
The weather looks moody, the pitch favours batters, and England are riding high under Ben Stokes. But what India can control is their team selection. With Jasprit Bumrah's availability still uncertain, Shubman Gill and his team India. need to pick a side that can take 20 wickets on a surface that won't give them up easily.
The pressure's on. The stakes are high.
Welcome to India Today's live blog of the England vs India 2nd Test.
