Almost nine decades back, India played their first Test match at the Old Trafford in Manchester under the leadership of Maharaja of Vizianagram. Vijay Merchant and Abid Mushtaq hit centuries in the second innings to salvage a draw in India's maiden outing at the Old Trafford. Indian cricket has grown leaps and bounds since then but draw remains the best result the team has been able to achieve in Manchester. With India and England moving to Manchester for the fourth Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar series, India's winless record at the ground has yet again come to the fore.
India's record at Old Trafford
India have played nine Tests in Manchester and lost four of them. The other five games have ended as draws. All four defeats have been quite heavy with two of them being innings-loss. The margin in the other two losses was also above 100.
While the overall record at the Old Trafford is quite forgettable for India, the ground has some good memories for Indian fans as well. It is the ground where a 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar scored his first international century. In the second Test of India's tour to England 1990, Tendulkar slammed 119 not out in the second innings. The century helped India to draw the Test and Tendulkar was adjudged the Player of the Match.
The ground also has some embarrassing moments like the shocking 58 and 82 all out in a Test match in 1952. In their last Test at this ground in 2014, India were reduced to 8/4 in the first innings, a position from which they never recovered and lost the match by an innings and 54 runs
India vs England Test Series 2025
After a thrilling 22-run loss in the third Test, India now are behind 2-1 in the five-match series and they need to win at Old Traffod to keep their chances of winning the series alive.
