After a tough loss at Lord’s, India is 1-2 down in the series. To avoid losing the series, they need to win or draw the 4th Test at Old Trafford in Manchester starting July 23. India lost the first Test at Leeds by 5 wickets but came back to tie the series 1-1 at Edgbaston, their first win in 9 Tests. England then took the lead again with a 22 run win at Lord’s.
India’s batting and bowling have been good. Mohammed Siraj is the top fast bowler of the series with 13 wickets and captain Shubman Gill is the top scorer with 607 runs in 3 Tests. The top 3 wicket takers are all Indians – Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep.
Now as they head into the 4th Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, how will India do? They have never won a Test match there. To tie the series, Gill’s team will have to make history like they did at Edgbaston. India first played a Test at Manchester in 1936 led by the Maharaja of Vizianagram. Since then they have played 9 Tests there and lost 4 and drawn 5.
Several Indian batsmen have scored centuries at Old Trafford including Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Merchant, Abbas Ali Baig, Polly Umrigar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar.
The Old Trafford pitch is expected to help fast bowlers so India will have a tough time against England’s pace attack led by Jofra Archer. England last lost at this ground in 2019 to Australia. Since then they have won against West Indies, Pakistan and South Africa and drawn with Australia.
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Joe Root who scored a century at Lord’s is the highest run scorer at Old Trafford among current players with 978 runs in 11 matches at an average of 65.20 with one century and 7 fifties. Despite his recent struggles, captain Ben Stokes has 579 runs at an average of 52.63 at this ground.
