Indian captain Rohit Sharma with his teammates ahead of the second Test match against England, in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

A sea of fans gathered at the arrivals gate of the Visakhapatnam airport on Tuesday afternoon, waiting patiently for their cricketing idols to arrive in the city for the second fixture of the five-match India vs England Test series which the visitors are leading 1-0. The match is set to begin from February 2 (Friday) at the YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium.

A roar of applause rang out as the players finally arrived, making their way to the team bus that would take them to Hotel Novotel on Beach Road, where they would be put up.

The fans seemed unfazed by the Indian team’s shock defeat in the first Test in Hyderabad, and cheered enthusiastically for captain Rohit Sharma, and other stars of the team such as Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin. England captain Ben Stokes, too, walked out to a rousing welcome.

The buses carrying the two squads, the umpiring team and the support staff soon left for the hotel accompanied by heavy security.

The teams will be taking part in practice sessions at the B-grounds of the stadium on Wednesday and Thursday in separate shifts.

This will be third Test match that Visakhapatnam will be hosting. The first match was played between India and England in November 2016, and the second one was between India and South Africa in October 2019. India won both matches.