At the conclusion of the first innings in the first test of England's 2024 tour of India, the visitors trailed by 190 runs with captain Ben Stokes the only player to have made more than 37. India looked well on course to wrap things up well before the fourth day, but they'd not reckoned with the unbelievable fightback that was to come from Brendon McCullum's side.
Led by Ollie Pope's astounding 196 with the bat — after being caught for just one in the first innings — England went all-out attack and turned the game around, with debutant spinner Tom Hartley taking seven wickets for just 62 runs in the process!
From a first innings total of 436 runs, India slumped to 202 in the second, captain Rohit Sharma scoring highest for the hosts with just 39 before being dismissed for LBW off another swerving special from Hartley. The debutant spinner was on hand to cap off the victory, stumping Mohammed Siraj to seal the first Test for England by 28 runs.
The teams now head east to Visakhapatnam for the second Test, and having produced one of their best performances in many a year to win by slim margins in the first, can England's "Bazball" tactics put them on the cusp of a series victory?
When is the 2nd Test of the India vs England series? Start time
The second Test gets underway at the Dr. YS Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, India on Friday, February 2, 2024. The first ball will be bowled at 9:30 a.m. local time on each day of the match.
This time slot translates to 4 a.m. GMT for UK-based England fans, with the match taking place overnight in the US on the previous day, Thursday, February 1.
| Day | First Ball (Local Time) | UK (GMT) | US (ET) | US (PT) |
| Day 1 | Fri, Feb 2 - 9:30 a.m. | Fri, Feb 2 - 4:00 a.m. | Thu, Feb 1 - 11:00 p.m. | Thu, Feb 1 - 8:00 p.m. |
| Day 2 | Sat, Feb 3 - 9:30 a.m. | Sat, Feb 3 - 4:00 a.m. | Fri, Feb 2 - 11:00 p.m. | Fri, Feb 2 - 8:00 p.m. |
| Day 3 | Sun, Feb 4 - 9:30 a.m. | Sun, Feb 4 - 4:00 a.m. | Sat, Feb 3 - 11:00 p.m. | Sat, Feb 3 - 8:00 p.m. |
| Day 4 | Mon, Feb 5 - 9:30 a.m. | Mon, Feb 5 - 4:00 a.m. | Sun, Feb 4 - 11:00 p.m. | Sun, Feb 4 - 8:00 p.m. |
| Day 5 | Tue, Feb 6 - 9:30 a.m. | Tue, Feb 6 - 4:00 a.m. | Mon, Feb 5 - 11:00 p.m. | Mon, Feb 5 - 8:00 p.m. |
India vs England 2nd Test series TV channel, live stream
| Country | TV Channel | Streaming |
| UK | TNT Sports | discovery+ |
| US | Willow TV | Sling |
UK: TNT Sports secured the rights to show live coverage of the series just nine days before the first Test, while streaming of all the action will also be available via discovery+.
US: Willow TV has exclusive rights of the Test series for fans Stateside which is available to stream on Sling, and also includes Willow TV for more content from the world of cricket. New subscribers can get their first month subscription for just $10.
India vs England Test series dates
| Test | Location | Dates |
| 1st Test | Hyderabad | Thursday, January 25 - Monday, January 29 |
| 2nd Test | Visakhapatnam | Friday, February 2 - Tuesday, February 6 |
| 3rd Test | Rajkot | Thursday, February 15 - Monday, February 19 |
| 4th Test | Ranchi | Friday, February 23 - Tuesday, February 27 |
| 5th Test | Dharmshala | Thursday, March 7 - Monday, March 11 |
Who is in India Test squad to face England?
It appeared as if the pre-series loss of Virat Kohli for the first two Tests would be inconsequential for India, with Ravindra Jadeja hitting 87 off 180 balls in the first innings as the hosts took control. However, Jadeja picked up an injury and will miss the entirety of the second test, leaving the hosts without one of their biggest hitters in the middle of the batting order.
First-choice wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat caught four England batsmen over the course of both innings, and will remain behind the stumps after his deputy KL Rahul was also ruled out of the second Test with injury. Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar have all been drafted into the matchday squad for Rohit Sharma's side.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumra (vice-captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Avesh Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Sourabh Kumar, Axar Patel, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav.
Who is in England Test squad to face India?
England retain the same squad that won the first Test in sensational style, with Shoaib Bashir, who was delayed in joining up with the side after visa issues in Abu Dhabi, in with a chance of making the XI after a full week's training with the side. He's far from the only spinner in the squad though, and several impressed in the first Test, none more so than debutant Tom Hartley, whose seven devastating wickets cleaned house with India's batting order in the second innings.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope also stepped up to the mantle (and then some) in that second phase of play, being four runs away from a double-century as he notched 196 and turned the scoreline firmly into England's favour. He'll remain third in the order behind Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, both of whom will be hoping to run up big scores of their own after failing to crack 50 in either innings of the first Test.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Ollie Pope (vice-captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Tom Hartley, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
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