Another historic venue in the world of Test cricket, but unfortunately, Old Trafford has not been a happy hunting ground for India
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy moves on to the fourth Test game of the series at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, a venue in cricket history that is as iconic as the Old Trafford football ground, the home of Premier League giant Manchester United.
Unfortunately, the iconic Test cricket venue has not been a happy hunting ground for India, as it is one of the most popular cricket stadiums in the world where India has not registered a Test victory to date.
India’s journey as a Test-playing team at Old Trafford began 11 years before the nation gained independence, on July 25, 1936. Although India did not win the game, the team secured a draw after putting on only 203 runs in the first innings, whereas England had scored 571. However, India’s Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali stood their ground with 114 and 112, respectively, registering India’s first overseas Test centuries, gifting India a draw.
Overall, since 1936, India has played nine Test matches at Old Trafford. Out of nine games, five ended in draws and four were met with defeats. In the eyes of many, this record may look decent. However, in decades of Test cricket with so many talented players over the years, it is an unacceptable record.
India has not visited the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in 11 years, having played their last game between August 7 and 9 in 2014. Under former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India collapsed at 152 in the first innings. The only notable batting stints were 71 from Dhoni, and Ravichandran Ashwin added 40. England scored 367 in their first innings, whereas the Indian batting line-up once again faltered, scoring only 161 to lose the game by an innings and 54 runs.
When it comes to scoring runs at Old Trafford in Test cricket, no Indian batsman has crossed the 250-run mark in their career. Sunil Gavaskar, having played three matches at the venue, is still India’s highest run-scorer at Old Trafford with 242 runs. However, the fact must be considered that India has played only nine games, and therefore, several legends of Indian batting did not spend many hours at the venue.
In fact, from the present team touring in England, Ravindra Jadeja is the only player in the squad who played in the 2014 Test at Old Trafford. No other Indian player at present has the experience of playing at the historic venue.
Even in terms of grabbing wickets, no modern-day Indian cricketer has their name registered in the top 80 wicket takers at Old Trafford. From India, Vinoo Mankad still stands as the highest wicket-taker with nine wickets to his name in three appearances at Old Trafford.
For India, winning the series is top priority, and to do so, India must register victories in the remaining games – a chance to write history.
