England v India cricket tips & odds | Second Test preview

England v India best bets – Birmingham Test 2025

Second Test preview: England v India

England will be looking to back up their Headingley heroics when they face India at Edgbaston, with the second Test set to start this Wednesday.

The opening match was an instant classic, with the hosts pulling off a record fourth-innings chase to snatch the win, and expectations are understandably high as the action heads to Birmingham.

Top cricket betting sites have England as firm favorites for the win at -178.57 — and when you look at the star quality in their top seven, it is easy to see why.

Online bookmakers have India paying +235 to square the series, but that price may shorten if Jasprit Bumrah is confirmed to play.

India will wait until the last minute to make a call on their superstar quick, who is on a strictly managed workload for this tour, while it is likely Washington Sundar will come in as the second spinner regardless.

For England, injury-prone paceman Jofra Archer joins the squad as he circles a long-awaited return to international cricket; however, the hosts have opted to stick with the same side that saluted in Yorkshire.

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England squad for Edgbaston Test

• Jofra Archer
• Jacob Bethell
• Shoaib Bashir
• Brydon Carse
• Sam Cook
• Zak Crawley
• Ben Duckett
• Harry Brook
• Ollie Pope
• Joe Root
• Jamie Overton
• Jamie Smith (wk)
• Ben Stokes (c)
• Josh Tongue
• Chris Woakes

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India squad for Edgbaston Test

• Yashasvi Jaiswal
• Abhimanyu Easwaran
• Shubman Gill (c)
• Rishabh Pant (wk)
• Dhruv Jurel
• Prasidh Krishna
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Mohammed Siraj
• Akash Deep
• Arshdeep Singh
• Harshit Rana
• Jasprit Bumrah
• Nitish Kumar Reddy
• Karun Nair
• Ravindra Jadeja
• Shardul Thakur
• Washington Sundar

Second Test betting picks – England v India

Whichever way you slice it, England are on a roll. Their batting looks as strong as ever, and even with a couple of key bowlers missing, they were good enough to take 20 wickets in the first Test. Even if Bumrah plays, the in-form hosts are hard to pass on at -166.67 with Stake.com.

Chris Woakes didn’t have his best outing at Headingley, but the veteran seamer has a rock-solid record at Edgbaston. The Warwickshire native has 13 wickets from three Tests at his home ground, averaging under 25 and striking at better than 46 — strong numbers in any language. If there is any juice in the pitch at all, back Woakes as England’s top wicket-taker in the first innings at +250 with Stake.com.

The pitch in Birmingham typically offers a bit for the seamers, which explains why there is plenty of value about the batters in man-of-the-match betting. It’s not easy to pick a favorite after the runfest in Leeds, but Joe Root’s numbers stand out. The former England captain averages better than 70 across nine Tests at Edgbaston, so the +1100 MOTM odds with Stake.com are worth a punt.

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