England vs West Indies | Predictions for Day 2 at Old Trafford
Winning the toss, Windies had a couple of breakthroughs in the 14th over, but soon after that England’s batting took over. After a 52-run partnership between Root and Sibley, the latter recorded an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 126 with Stokes, taking the total to 207/3 at Stumps Day 1.
Weather report
The first 90 minutes of play on Day 1 was ruined by the rain in Manchester as England and West set foot to the start of the 2nd Test. Rain interruption wasn’t something that the teams didn’t face during the first Test in Southampton, which all faced a Toss delay due to bad weather. After rains marred a significant amount of time in the 1st session of Day of Manchester, Day 2 is expected to be cloudy with a chance of rain in the first couple of hours. However, according to Accuweather, conditions will clear out for the rest of the day with ‘partly cloudly’ predictions.
Pitch report
England, who were asked to bat first by Jason Holder, took to the backfoot at the start of the first session as the pitch was damp and the outfield was slow due to the weather. However, the dampness of the pitch affected the Windies pacers - Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach - more than the batsmen. Even the good deliveries by the pacers didn’t carry to the keeper and Holder took the decision of bringing in spin, in the 14th over, in the form of Roston that helped them with a double breakthrough in the same over. However, moving ahead, the partnership between Stokes and Sibley was hard for West Indies to break. But as the pitch dries out on the 2nd Day, it would be crucial for the bowlers with the new ball.
Key Batsman
England - Dominic Sibley: England’s young opening batsman Dom Sibley managed to score 0 and 50 in Southampton, but the right-hander stepped up on Day 1 at the Old Trafford after England were asked to bat first. After recording a 52-run partnership with captain Joe Root, Sibley (86*) put on an unbeaten 126-run fourth-wicket stand with Stokes and so he will be fully equipped to take his innings further on Day 2. Undoubtedly, he is also a 1xbet favourite.
Key Bowler
West Indies- Shannon Gabriel: The 32-year-old Windies pacer, who was the Man of the Match in the first Test, would be the ‘key bowler’ on Day 2, despite him being wicketless on Day 1. Yes, Gabriel did have a hard time finding a breakthrough with the new ball but that was due to the dampness of the pitch as even Kemar Roach faced similar trouble. He was also unfortunate as he had the chance to dismiss Sibley but skipper Jason Holder had dropped the English opener when he was batting on 68. But once Gabriel gets going, as the pitch dries out, history is witness to the fact that he becomes unstoppable. So expect the right-arm pacer to strike early on Day 2. Gabriel could just be the one to turn the tide to Windies' favour.
1xBet Prediction
Both Sibley(86*) and Stokes(59*) remained unbeaten at Stumps Day 1 of the 2nd Test but the 1st session would again be crucial as Windies would be looking for a breakthrough. 1XBet's prediction is that the opener Sibley, who seemed to be in great touch, will score more runs than Root’s deputy in the first innings.