The second of the five-Test series between India and England is set to start from today at London’s iconic Lord’s stadium as the two sides look to register their first wins in the series after the first Test got washed out, thanks to the unpredictable English weather.

Contrary to popular belief, the Men in Blue managed to do well in the first Test behind a great start in the first innings by opener KL Rahul (84 runs in 214 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (56 runs on 86 balls) in the middle order.

On the other hand, Indian skipper Virat Kohli once again struggled to open his account on the English soil as veteran and a well-seasoned James Anderson tricked him into getting an outer edge. A simple catch into the hands of Jos Buttler and the batsman was dismissed on the very first delivery for a golden duck.

Visibly an easy read for Anderson at this point, Kohli will look to make certain changes to his game. With the 39-year old put in the ‘doubtful’ category ahead of the Lord’s Test, things might get a bit easier for the skip as well.

However, ahead of the second Test, Kohli has spoken in support of his deputy in-command Ajinkya Rahane, as the rumours of him getting dropped from the Playing XI surrounded him.

"I do not think Rahane’s form is a concern. Our focus is not to think individually. It is about collectively how much strength they bring into the team & perform in difficult conditions, so that we are in winning positions, someone is going to put their hand up," he said in a press conference.

Rahane was dismissed on an unfortunate run out after a miscommunication between Rahul and him in the first innings, as Jonny ‘Quick Trigger’ Bairstow smashed the bull’s eye and sent him back to the pavilion with a direct hit. 

Before the series began, former captain Sunil Gavaskar had alleged that back-end politics was being played in the Indian dressing room with the aim of dropping Rahane from the squad as their main goal.

“Tell me who else has scored consistently in the last six-eight months. The real target is Rahane. Pujara’s name has been bandied about just to make sure that this whisper campaign is not thought of as if it is only directed at Rahane,” Gavaskar had said in an interview with The Times of India earlier this month.

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