England Opt To Bat First In Second ODI Against India

February 9, 2025: England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat first in the second ODI against India, held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

England made three changes to their playing XI for this match, bringing in Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, and Jamie Overton, while India made two changes, with Virat Kohli returning to the team and Varun Chakraborty making his debut.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was dropped for Kohli, and Kuldeep Yadav has been rested for this match. India currently leads the three-match ODI series 1-0, having won the first match, and is looking to build on this advantage. India has a strong record at the Barabati Stadium, with seven matches played here since 2007, and they have never lost a game at this venue, with their last defeat coming against New Zealand in 2003.

This series is especially important for India as they prepare for the upcoming Champions Trophy starting on February 19, and the team combination will need to be finalized based on this series’ performances. In the first ODI, captain Rohit Sharma gave debut opportunities to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harshit Rana, while Virat Kohli was sidelined due to knee swelling. However, after the match, Shubman Gill confirmed that Kohli’s injury was not serious, and he would be back for the second ODI.

The playing XI for both teams is as follows:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakraborty, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami.

England: Phil Salt (wicketkeeper), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (captain), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood.