Team India and Manchester United players engaged in fun activities, including football drills. cricket knockabouts and exchanging jerseys, in Manchester before the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Team India and Premier League giants Manchester United players engaged in fun activities in Manchester ahead of the Shubman Gill-led side’s fourth Test of the five-match series against England at Old Trafford, starting on July 23.
Indian players arrived in Manchester on Saturday after practice sessions at Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham following the Lord’s Test defeat. The visitors are trailing 1-2 in the five-match series after heartbreakingly losing the third Test at Lord’s by 22 runs while chasing a 193-run target, despite solid resistance from Ravindra Jadeja, who played a valiant innings of 61 off 181 balls.
Team India will be heading to Old Trafford, where they have not won a single match in their last 9 appearances from 1936 to 2014. India have lost 4 matches and drawn 5, will be eager to rewrite history in Manchester. Old Trafford remains the only venue in England where India are yet to win a Test match after ending 58-year jinx at Edgbaston with a 336-run win in the second Test.
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India and Manchester United players engage in fun activities
Ahead of the Old Trafford Test, Team India had a light-hearted session with Manchester United players at the club’s training facility, where two sides engaged in football drills, cricket knockabouts, exchanged jerseys, and fun banter.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to their X handle (formerly Twitter) and shared the pictures from the crossover event, showcasing camaraderie between footballers and cricketers, much to the delight of the fans across the sporting world. Manchester United players and staff were seen wearing India’s Test and ODI jerseys, while Team India donned Premier League giants home and away kits, printed with their names on the back.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim posed for a picture, while captains Shubman Gill and Bruno Fernandes shared laughter for a photo. Also, Mohammed Siraj was seen bowling to Harry Maguire, while Rishabh Pant and Gill took a penalty kick with the goalkeeper Tom Heaton in an Indian ODI jersey guarding the goal.
Manchester United met Team India players a day after playing a friendly match against Leeds United at Friends Arena in Sweden. The Red Devils, who had a disappointing campaign last season, failing to win a domestic or international title, will kick-start their preparation for the new Premier League season with the Summer Series against West Ham United in New Jersey on July 27.
Team India aims for a turnaround at Old Trafford
Meanwhile, Team India will aim for a strong comeback after a heartbreaking loss in the Lord’s Test. Chasing a 193-run target, India's batting line-up collapsed and eventually bundled out for 170 in 74.5 overs. Amid the collapse, Ravindra Jadeja stood tall like a lone warrior, but his efforts went in vain.
With the series already on the line, the Shubman Gill-led Team India will be desperate to bounce back and level the series 2-2 at Old Trafford. Win would not only keep their World Test Championship hopes alive but also end an 88-year-long-standing winless streak at the venue.
Team India lost the series opener at Headingley in Leeds by five wickets, despite four players scoring five centuries across both innings. Then, Gill and his boys made a strong comeback to clinch a historic Edgbaston Test victory. The pace bowling attack was without Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the second Test, but Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj performed brilliantly in his absence.
