India seeking win at Old Trafford to keep series’ hopes alive
England v India | 4th Test | 23-27 July | Old Trafford, Manchester | 12:00pm
This will be the fourth Test of the current five game series. As it stands England are ahead 2-1. If England win, they will claim the series.
India have won three of the last five Tests between these two sides
Indian keeper Rishabh Pant, who is also the eighth highest ranked batsman in the world, has been cleared to play in the fourth Test after recovering from the finger injury sustained at Lords.
The World’s number one Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah has also been declared fit to play. It is unclear if fellow quicks Akash Deep (groin) and Arshdeep Singh (hand) will be fit to play. Anshul Kamboj has been called up as a possible replacement.
Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who played in both the second and third Tests will miss the rest of the series after picking up a serious injury. He is expected to be replaced by batsman Sai Sudharsan.
Neither of these have been involved in a draw in any of their last five matches.
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
The average first innings score at Old Trafford is 331.
Of the 86 Tests played at this venue, 32 have been won by the side batting first and 17 by the side bowling first.
The highest total recorded at the venue was a massive 656/8 by Australia in 1964. Meanwhile India are the holders of the lowest score with a lowly 58 all out made in 1952.
India have played nine Tests at Old Trafford but have never won at the ground.
England have 84 games at Old Trafford and have won 33 times, with 36 draws and 15 losses.
Former England bowler Steve Harmison has suggested that the pitch at Old Trafford will offer little in terms of pace or bounce, saying that it is likely to be a spinners wicket.
Weather:
The weather for the Test does not look particularly good with the game almost certain to experience rain delays. In fact, Friday is the only day of the scheduled five where not rain is predicted. Temperatures are set to be cool, but not cold, with the highest the mercury will reach 21 degrees on Friday. There won’t be too much sun on show in Manchester with only Friday expected to see a break in the clouds.
Form (most recent game first):
England: W, L, W, W, L.
India: L, W, L, L, L.
Key player:
England, Joe Root: Having been displaced at the top of the Test batting rankings by his teammate Harry Brook ahead of the Lord’s Test, Root returned to the summit once again off the back of third Test scores of 104 and 40. He has been in excellent recent form with just one single figure innings all series. Root is one of the all-time greats and boasts a Test average of 50.8 from his 285 Test innings – but his stats at Old Trafford are next level with an average of 65.8. Manchester is one of Root’s most successful hunting grounds.
India, Rishabh Pant: India’s keeper and vice-captain has the tendency to blow hot and cold. He bagged a ton in each innings in the opening Test and hasn’t quite reached those heights in the next two, but he is still averaging 70.83 for the series. With the wicket at Old Trafford expected to offer limited bounce and pace this should play to Pant’s strengths – he is good against spin, and he likes to dominate. Expect him to play his shots in Manchester.
Verdict: Draw
These side are closely matched, and this has been a thrilling series this far. All the games have gone deep into the final day before achieving results, but with inclement weather predicted and a track that looks like it may favour the bat over the ball, this game could end run out of time before a result can be achieved.
