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Visakhapatnam: England skipper Alastair Cook said Wednesday his spinners were running high on confidence and could turn the tables on top-tanked India if a turning track was offered in the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
England's raw spin trio of Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Zafar Ansari shared 13 wickets between them to force the mighty Indians on the backfoot in the drawn first Test in Rajkot.
Leg-spinner Rashid led the charge with seven wickets as the hosts held on to a tense draw after losing six quick wickets on the final afternoon.
On the same track, India's famed spin attack struggled, with the world number one bowler Ravichandran Ashwin returning a dismal 3-230 -- his worst bowling figures at home since December 2012.
Cook credited the success of his tweakers to former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, whose contract as England's spin consultant has been extended until the third Test of the ongoing five-match series.
Cook led from the front with a brilliant 130 in the second innings, one of four centuries by the visiting batsmen, to counter the Indian bowlers in their own den.
England though face a late selection quandary over pace spearhead Chris Woakes, who is down with a minor knee injury.
Fast bowler Jimmy Anderson would be itching to take the field against India after missing the first Test but Cook admitted he faced tough competition.
India's spin force of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra failed to get the desired success on a fast Rajkot track, sharing nine wickets in the two innings.
Indian captain Virat Kohli who had criticised the presence of grass on the Rajkot wicket, is expecting turn in Visakhapatnam, which is set to host its first Test ever.
Kohli also confirmed fit-again opener Lokesh Rahul was a certainty in the starting XI, dousing any chance of veteran Gautam Gambhir playing a part in the series.
The left-handed Gambhir, making a comeback to the national side after a gap of two years, scored 29 and a duck.
Teams from:
India: Virat Kohli (Capt.), Ravichandran Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Lokesh Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav
England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jake Ball, Gary Balance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Haseeb Hameed, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
Match facts
November 17-21, 2016
Start time 0930 local (0400 GMT)
