[WATCH] ENG vs IND 2025: KL Rahul chops Chris Woakes onto his stumps at Edgbaston

KL Rahul departed for a 26-ball two after inside-edging a Chris Woakes delivery onto his stumps on Day 1 of the second Test of the five-match series between England and India at Edgbaston. It was an uncharacteristic morning session for Rahul, who is usually able to negate the new ball quite well.

The fourth delivery of Woakes’ fifth over produced the wicket. It was a back-of-a-length delivery around the off stump channel. A bit of extra bounce and deviation off the surface proved to be reason of Rahul’s undoing. The ball hit the bat high and went onto thud into the base of the off stump as Woakes found an early wicket.

Earlier in the morning, India lost the toss and were put in to bat by Ben Stokes. The hosts had already announced an unchanged XI a couple of days prior to the commencement of the game. Shubman Gill announced three changes to his side while speaking during toss time.

Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur, and Jasprit Bumrah made way for Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep. While Bumrah was rested to manage his workload, Sudharsan and Thakur were forced out due to underwhelming returns in the series opener at Headingley.

The visitors will be keen to draw level in Birmingham after conceding a 1-0 lead following a five-wicket loss in Leeds as Ben Duckett’s 149 paved the way for the hosts to chase 371. Duckett, who had scored 62 in the first innings, was awarded the Player of the Match award for his impressive outing.