IND vs ENG Test: What is England's record at Old Trafford? Do India have a chance at equalising series?
India face a tough challenge as they prepare to face England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford starting Wednesday. With injuries plaguing the team and a 2-1 deficit in the series, India must win to keep their hopes alive.
The visitors have never won at this venue in nine attempts, making the task even more daunting.
The injury to Nitish Reddy has forced India to rethink their strategy. They can no longer rely on their preferred setup of three all-rounders. Shardul Thakur might replace Reddy, but he doesn't offer the same batting skills. The team might return to their Leeds combination with just one spinner.
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Team selection poses several questions. Uncapped pacers Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna are in contention if Akash Deep doesn't recover from his groin injury. Kamboj, who generates good seam movement, showed promise during training and has experience from the India A tour.
The batting lineup needs to bounce back after struggling at Lord's. Shubman Gill, despite leading the run charts with over 600 runs, had a poor last Test.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal must find ways to handle Jofra Archer's pace. K L Rahul has been the most consistent batter in English conditions.
Harry Brook press conference: On why India are scared, on field fights at Lord's and more
Weather could play a crucial role
. Manchester has seen regular rainfall, with light showers predicted during the match. This means pacers could get help on day one. England has already announced their team, with Liam Dawson replacing injured Shoaib Bashir.
The series has been thrilling so far. As Harry Brook puts it: "Every game we've played so far has gone into the last hour of the game, which you do not see very often.
I've had a lot of people come up to me saying 'it's been an amazing series, thank you'. Everybody said that the Lord's game was one of the best games that they've watched, so it's been an amazing series and I'm looking forward to the rest of it."
Rishabh Pant seems ready to return after recovering from his finger injury. The last Indian century at Old Trafford came from Sachin Tendulkar in 1990, showing how challenging this venue has been for Indian batters.
England's Test record at Old Trafford
England have played 84 Test matches at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester - winning 33, losing 15 and drawing 36. They have a 2.20 win-loss rate in 140 years of Test cricket at the venue.
England's last Test at Old Trafford came against Sri Lanka, which they won by 5 wickets. The last defeat at this stadium in Manchester came against Australia during the 2019 Ashes.
England's Last 10 matches at Old Trafford:
2024: England won by 5 wickets
2023: England drew with Australia
2022: England won inns & 85 runs vs South Africa
2020: England won by 3 wickets vs Pakistan
2020: England won by 269 runs vs West Indies
2020: England won by 113 runs vs West Indies
2019: England lost by 185 runs vs Australia
2017: England won by 177 runs vs South Africa
2016: England won by 330 runs vs Pakistan
2014: England won by inns & 54 runs vs India
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