Team India faces England at Old Trafford, a venue where they've never won a Test in 88 years. After a loss at Lord's, Gill's team must win to keep the series alive. Can they overcome history and England's recent dominance at this ground?
After the Lord’s Test defeat, Team India will face England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, which will take place on July 23.
India played their first Test at Old Trafford in 1936 and went on to appear in eight more matches in 1946, 1952, 1959, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1990, and 2014. However, the venue has never been kind to visiting Indian teams, as they could not win a single match, losing five and drawing four.
India’s winless record at Old Trafford was almost similar to Edgbaston, where they failed to register a win in eight attempts until they broke the jinx in the second Test of the ongoing series against England.
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Team India’s last Test appearance at Old Trafford was in 2014, under the leadership of MS Dhoni, and the result did not go in the favour of the visitors.
MS Dhoni and Co. trounced in the 2014 Manchester Test
MS Dhoni-led Team India headed to the fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series level at 1-1 after a draw at Trent Bridge in Nottingham and a victory at Lord’s before losing at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Team India had the best chance to take a series lead, but their batting line-up crumbled under pressure and lost the match by an innings and 54 runs.
Skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. But the decision completely backfired as the hosts toppled to 8/4 in 5.1 overs before a fighting innings by Dhoni (71) and Ravichandran Ashwin (40), along with a 66-run stand for the seventh wicket between them, helped India recover slightly to post 152 on the board in the first innings. James Anderson (3/46) and Stuart Broad (6/25) dismantled India’s batting line-up as they combined to pick nine wickets.
In the first innings batting, England responded strongly as they posted a total of 367 and took a massive 215-run lead, putting Team India under immense pressure ahead of their second innings batting. The half-centuries by Ian Bell (58), Joe Root (77), and Jos Buttler (70) guided the Three Lions to a respectable total. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/75) and Varun Aaron (3/97) led the bowling attack by taking six wickets together.
With a massive 215-run trail in front of them, Team India once again faltered under pressure in the second innings. The top order collapsed early, and despite resilient innings by MS Dhoni (27) and Ravichandran Ashwin (46*), none of the batters offered substantial support as they were bundled out for 161 in 43 overs. For England, Moeen Ali led the bowling attack with four wickets, while James Anderson and Chris Jordan picked up two wickets each.
With the defeat in the Manchester Test, Team India put themselves on the verge of a series loss, which eventually happened by an innings and 224 runs defeat at The Oval in Trafford.
The Cancellation of the Old Trafford Test in 2021
Team India, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, had a brilliant start to the Test series against England in 2021, winning two of the first four matches, including a historic victory at Lord’s and a dominant performance at the Oval to take a 2-1 series lead. Virat Kohli and Co. were aiming to clinch the Test series, ending a 14-year drought of winning the Test series on English soil.
However, just a day before the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, the match was called off after a mutual agreement between the BCCI and ECB following a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. According to ESPN Cricinfo, the Manchester Test was cancelled on the morning of September 10, 2021, after a member of India’s support staff tested positive for the virus.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that India could not field an entire team, and the BCCI later offered to reschedule the match in a future window. The fifth and final Test was rescheduled to July 2022, but at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
England successfully leveled the series at 2-2 after chasing down a record 378-run target, their highest ever in Tests, powered by an extraordinary unbeaten 269-run stand for the fourth wicket between Joe Root (142) and Jonny Bairstow (114). England’s seven-wicket win denied India their fourth Test series on English soil.
Can Shubman Gill-Team India break the 88-year Manchester Jinx?
The Old Trafford in Manchester remains the only venue in England where India have yet to win a Test. Shubman Gill-led Team India ended their 58-year winless streak at Edgbaston earlier in the series.
With the series standing at 2-1 in favour of England after the Lord’s Test, the upcoming Test at Old Trafford is a do-or-die for Shubman Gill and his boys as they have to win the match in order to stay alive in the series heading into The Oval Test.
Given that India have not had a single match at Old Trafford over the last 88 years, the current side, led by Gill, has an arduous task at hand to script history at the venue that has consistently eluded the past Indian teams.
Meanwhile, England does not have an impressive record at the venue, winning 33, losing 15, and drawing 36 in 84 outings. However, in the last five matches at Old Trafford, England won four and drew once, making it somewhat of a fortress in recent years. With a recent record, England, under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, will look to extend their dominance at the venue.
While Shubman Gill-led Team India will have to overcome pressure, conditions, and history in order to script a win and push for the series decider at The Oval. The visitors can take inspiration from the Edgbaston Test victory, where they broke a long-standing winless streak.
