Revisiting India's last Test at Old Trafford, in 2014
What's the story
India will take on England in the fourth Test of the five-match series at Manchester's Old Trafford, starting on July 23. The visitors are trailing 2-1 after a defeat at Lord's and will be under pressure to bounce back in Manchester. The last time India played a Test at Old Trafford was in August 2014, during another tough series in England. Here we revisit that game, which saw India suffer a humiliating defeat, and that too by an innings margin.
Batting woes
India collapse for 152 runs in 1st innings
India were bowled out for a mere 152 runs in the first innings of the aforementioned game. England seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad made the new ball talk and reduced the visitors to 8/4. Captain MS Dhoni tried to hold the innings together with a gritty knock of 71 off 133 balls. Number-eight batter Ravichandran Ashwin (40) supported him well as the duo added 66 runs. Ajinkya Rahane (24) was the only other batter to enter double digits.
Broad
Six-fer for Broad
Broad was truly at his best in the game as he dismissed six batters in the first innings. The pacer eventually returned with 6/25 from 13.4 overs. Fred Trueman (8/31 in 1952) and Alec Bedser (7/52 in 1946) are the only other Englishmen with better figures than Broad against India in a Test innings in Manchester. While Anderson claimed 3/46, Chris Jordan took the remaining wicket as the Indian innings could not even last two sessions (46.4 overs).
England innings
England posted a strong total
In response, England finished at 367/10 nine of their 11 batters entered double digits. Joe Root's 77 was the highest individual score in the game. Jos Buttler (70) and Ian Bell (58) were England's other half-centurions as the hosts earned a massive 215-run lead. Pacers Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed three batters each while Pankaj Singh removed two.
Match outcome
India lose by an innings and 54 runs
In their second innings, India were bowled out for 161 runs, handing England a comfortable victory by an innings and 54 runs. They again lost wickets at regular intervals before Dhoni (27) and Ashwin (46*) added 39 runs. No other batter could touch the 20-run mark as spinner Moeen Ali claimed four wickets. The defeat was a major blow to India's hopes in the series as they went on to suffer a 1-4 series loss.
Prospect
India eye redemption
As the team returns to Old Trafford after over a decade for a Test match, they will be hoping for a different outcome this time around. A win would level the series at 2-2 and set up a decider at The Oval later this month. Notably, Ravindra Jadeja is the only player in the current Indian squad who featured in the aforementioned Manchester match.