England vs India second Test predictions: Root can deliver more Edgbaston magic
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- India have lost seven and draw one of their eight Tests at Edgbaston
- Joe Root averages over 70 in nine Tests at the Birmingham venue
- Recommended bet: Joe Root to be England's top first-innings runscorer
All roads lead to Australia for England and Ben Stokes's men have made a perfect start to the summer in preparation for the Ashes.
An easy win over Zimbabwe was followed by a five-wicket victory in a pulsating first Test against India in Leeds last week.
That has given England a grip on the five-match series and they will be seeking to tighten it this week at Edgbaston, which has been an extremely unhappy hunting ground for India in the past.
Team news
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Jofra Archer will not make his long-awaited Test return in Birmingham this week after England named an unchanged side from last week's five-wicket win at Headingley.
Leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav could come into India's XI at Edgbaston, where conditions will determine whether or not star bowler Jasprit Bumrah plays.
India are committed to playing Bumrah in three of the five Tests as he manages an issue with his back.
The stats
India have never won at Edgbaston, losing seven of their eight previous Tests at the ground.
Their previous visit in 2022 saw England chase down 378 on the final day, their highest ever completed chase in the longest format.
Jonny Bairstow scored a century in each innings three years ago as he saw England home alongside fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root, who scored an unbeaten 142 in the fourth inning.
That is one of three centuries at the ground for England's leading Test runscorer, who averages 70.76 in nine Tests in Birmingham.
Prediction
There were six centurions in an epic first Test in Leeds last week and perhaps the only surprise is that one of them was not Root.
Root was dismissed for 28 in the first innings, when he edged Bumrah to slip, but he demonstrated all of his effortless class on day five to guide England to victory with an unbeaten half-century.
Edgbaston has been a particularly profitable calling point for Root during his illustrious career, with England's greatest ever batsman scoring three centuries and five fifties in 16 innings in Birmingham.
His 142 not out the last time India visited in 2022 was an archetypal masterclass from Root, who then scored an unbeaten 118 on his next visit in the 2023 Ashes.
A fourth Edgbaston century only just eluded Root last year, when he scored 87 in a 10-wicket win over the West Indies, and the typically fervent Birmingham crowd could be treated to another magical display from the number-one ranked batsman in Test cricket.
