ICYMI: Abhishek Sharma had twisted his ankle during the warm-ups and didn't bat during practice yesterday, and was seen limping off. But he seems okay today.

18:15 Local Time, 12:45 GMT, 18:15 IST: Here are a few updates from Gokul Gopal who is at the stadium - "Varun CV, Washington Sundar and Mohammed Shami bowling on the side wicket. Abhishek Sharma has joined the bowlers with his left-arm spin followed by Arshdeep Singh.

India will be forced to make a couple of changes to their XI. A side strain injury during the practice session has ruled Nitish Kumar Reddy out of this series. Rinku Singh is out of the 2nd and 3rd T20I due to a low back spasm that he sustained while fielding in the opening match. Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh have been added to the Indian squad.

India are at home and have taken a 1-0 lead. England were under pressure coming into the series because the World Champions had a superb 2024. But now the visitors would be far more cornered thanks to their poor show in the first game. This format is about quick turnarounds. And England won't mind one today itself. Buttler and co. am sure would be raring to go and give it a fine shot.

India decimated England in the first game. Won't be an aberration if I say that. England barring Buttler didn't have a batter looking comfortable out there. Arshdeep got the ball to dance to his tunes. Varun spun a web so tight that England failed to wriggle out of it. England petered out to 132. India then tried to do what they have done in this format - blowing targets and opponents away with elan.

18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: Indian T20 captaincy has evolved over the years. It was Mahi Way or Your way to start off after the 2007 WC triumph. Then it turned to be My Way or No Way. The last T20 WC was won through All Inclusive Way. And now finally, India have turned another leaf and it is One Way and that's the Highway. SKY and his captaincy has been a breathe of fresh air for a team which has been struggling a little in the other two formats under a different captain. They will be ruffled at times but most times they will rough and scuff up the opponents.

Preview by Gokul Gopal

"If anything, be more aggressive," was England skipper Jos Buttler's response to a question on England's strategy against spin going forward in the T20I series against India, and he asked his fellow batters to find their own methods to counter the challenge. Ahead of the second T20I in Chennai, Harry Brook's one-line answer, when asked about what methods he would employ, was - "we'll see tomorrow".

England are keeping their game plan under wraps, but their approach under Brendon McCullum, the head coach across all formats, has consistently been to adopt an aggressive style. Both the coach and captain have continually urged the players to stay bold and attack-minded, but how they go about it individually will set the tone for the team for the rest of the series.

From India's standpoint, the goal will be to stick to the approach they've perfected over the past year - bowling with precision and batting with flair. Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel will aim to maintain pressure on England's lineup while the role of Arshdeep Singh will be as important. The attention will also be on the batters to see if their dynamic style can neutralise the threat posed by Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid.

When: Saturday, January 25 at 7:00 PM IST

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: Six of the nine IPL 2024 matches hosted at this venue were won by chasing sides, with an average first innings score of 170. With dew expected to play a role in the second half of the match, the decision for the captain winning the toss is obvious. However, pacers have tasted more success compared to spin during the last IPL, which could force a rethink in the team combination for the hosts.

Teams watch

India

Why didn't Mohammed Shami play? This was a question raised by many after the first T20I in Kolkata, with the explanation being that the conditions favoured a greater emphasis on spin. However, given the recent success of pacers at Chepauk, this venue could be where Shami makes his international comeback following the 2023 World Cup. He seemed fine bowling during practice under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Morne Morkel. To bring Shami into the XI, India might leave out Ravi Bishnoi, leaving the spin department slightly short-staffed, or exclude Nitish Reddy which will make the tail longer.

Tactics & Match-ups: Ben Duckett's three dismissals to left-arm pace in four innings and Arshdeep's success in the powerplay in the previous game, makes the Indian left-arm seamer the clear choice to operate the bulk of his overs in the powerplay. Meanwhile, Brook has been a suspect against leg-spin, which will leave him exposed to Varun and Bishnoi, should the latter play. Left-arm spinners have had a lot of success against Jos Buttler (7 dismissals), Phil Salt (7) and Liam Livingstone (4), which brings Axar Patel into play.

Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami/Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy

England

England announced one change from the last game, bringing in Brydon Carse for Gus Atkinson. Jacob Bethell reportedly did not turn up for practice on Friday due to an illness, and Jamie Smith has been added to the 12 should the need arise for his inclusion.

Tactics & Match-ups: Although he played a dazzling innings in the last match, Abhishek Sharma was tested by the pacers, especially by the short-of-length deliveries. England might attempt to do more of it in the second match, with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse able to generate good speeds. The change of pace worked well against Suryakumar and England would be well-served to try that, especially if the Indian skipper is looking to target the leg-side boundaries.

Probable XI: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Did you know?

- Chepauk has hosted only two T20Is till date and both were last-ball finishes. The first was in 2012 when New Zealand defeated India by one run while India beat West Indies by six wickets in 2018

- Arshdeep Singh is three wickets away from becoming the first Indian to reach the 100-wicket milestone in T20Is. Should be get those in this game, he'll become the third fastest to the landmark

- Jos Buttler averages 24.5 with a strike rate of 108.88 for his 98 runs in 4 innings in T20s in Chennai. Suryakumar has scored 347 runs in 11 innings here, at a strike rate of 130.94

What they said:

"Initially, the plan will be the same and I will see how they are trying to approach me. It's all instinctive. Basically, you have certain plans for certain batters and that will be pretty much that. But if they are trying to do something different, it will be more instinctive" - Varun Chakravarthy, on the shift from Kolkata to Chennai.

"It's always nice to score runs as a batter and contribute to wins. That's the only thing I'm really bothered about, is trying to be a match winner. If I win one or two games out of this series here I'll be very happy with it" - Harry Brook wants to make an impact.

Squads:

India Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana

England Squad: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, Rehan Ahmed