In what will be the second most high-profile meeting for the second time this year, the finalist of the Cricket World Test Championship, India, will take on England in their backyard in a five-Test series for the Pataudi Trophy. The first is obviously the Ashes 2021-22, to be played Down Under at the year end.
The India-England Test series kicks off at Nottingham when the two teams meet on Wednesday for the opening match to be played at Trent Bridge, and will conclude with the fifth and final Test in mid September.
The opening match will be played in Trent Bridge, Nottingham, which is also the home ground for England fast bowler Stuart Broad, from August 4-8. The second match will be at the ‘home of cricket’ in Lord’s from August 12-16, the third will be played at Leeds from August 25-29 and the fourth will be at The Oval from September 2-6. The fifth and final match of the tour will be played at the Old Trafford in Manchester, from September 10-14.
The indian team will be the one on backfoot and also under some duress given that they have lost the final of the Cricket World Test Championship to New Zealand in the month of June, despite being favourites in the event which was played out over a span of two years.
India are also not the world No 1 side anymore, which they were back in February-March when they faced England in their backyard and handed the Joe Root-led young team a 3-1 hammering on flat and turning pitches.
For those uninitiated, this series also marks the beginning of the second edition of the Cricket World Test Championship, which has some of its basic rules reworked to ensure there is a level-playing field for all teams. The new rules address the issues of home and away matches as well as the number of matches teams play in a series — only India-England and England-Australia in the modern world play five-Test series.
The India versus England affair is certainly set to be the one replete with intensity and fireworks, given the unpredictability and confidence of the visiting team against the talent and assuredness of the home side. India will be without the services of Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar for the series whereas England will miss Ben Stokes for all five games, along with uncertainty dangling over the return of Jofra Archer.
Before the series gets underway on Wednesday, August 4, let us have a look at the statistical highlights:
INDIA VS ENGLAND BILATERAL Test RECORD:
Name of the trophy: India and England compete for the Pataudi Trophy — named in the honour of former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi — whenever they are playing a Test series in England. And when the two teams meet in India, they play for the Anthony De Mello trophy, which is named after former cricket administrator and one of the founding members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
England have most wins: The two teams have played 126 Tests so far, in which England have most wins (48) compared to 29 for India. While no match between the two teams has been tied, a total of 49 drawn Tests have taken place between these two teams.
India have a poor record playing in England: India have a poor record in Test cricket in England since they have won only 7 matches out of 62 played so far, while they have lost 34. As many as 21 Test matches in England, between India and England, have ended in draws.
England have a better away record: Comparatively, England have a better record in Test cricket in India as they have 14 victories to show from 64 matches played with 22 defeats and 28 draws.
England dominate at home: In an era where home teams are favourites to win, England enjoyed a similar record having defeated India in each of the three series that took place in the last decade in the old Blighty. The English team has recorded 4-0 win in 2011, 3-1 win in 2014 and a 4-1 win in 2018.
Most recent meeting: For the two teams who usually meet in five-match Test series, India and England played out a four-match series to accommodate as many as five T20Is earlier this year in India, where in the home team emerged victorious by a margin of 3-1.
FOR INDIA:
Most runs: Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar scored most runs for India against England in Test cricket. His number is: 2,535 runs in 32 matches, followed by another batting legend Sunil Gavaskar at the second spot with 2,483 runs in 38 matches and Rahul Dravid at the third position with 1,950 runs in 21 matches.
Highest batting average: Rahul Dravid is at the first position with batting average of 60.93 followed by Mohammed Azharuddin at second position with an average of 58.09 in 15 matches with 1278 runs. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is at the third spot in this list with an average of 57.82 while aggregating 983 runs.
Most centuries: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid occupy the first spot in this list with 7 centuries each against England, followed by Mohammed Azharuddin at the second position with 6 centuries. Dilip Vengsarkar, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara with 5 centuries each are at the third position.
Most half-centuries: Sunil Gavaskar is at the top of this list with 16 fifties, followed by Sachin Tendulkar with 13, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gundappa Viswanath with 12 each.
Most Test appearances: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar with 38 Tests has played most for India against England, followed by Sachin Tendulkar with 32 and Gundappa Viswanath at third with 30 matches.
Highest innings total: India’s total in the first innings of the Chennai Test, played in December 2016, of 759/7 declared in the fifth and final Test of the series is their highest.
Lowest innings total: India recorded their lowest total ever against England in Test cricket at Lord’s in June 1974, which was 42 all out.
Most wickets for India against England: Ace spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar is the leading wicket taker for India against England in Test cricket with 93 wickets in 23 Tests, followed by former India captain and bowling legend Anil Kumble with 92 wickets in 19 matches. Ravichandran Ashwin leapfrogged Bishan Singh Bedi in the last series and now has 88 wickets in 19 matches against England so far, occupying the third spot in this list.
Best bowling performance: Bhagwat Chandrasekhar recorded figures of 41.5–18-79-8 which is the best bowling performance by an Indian bowler against England in Test cricket.
FOR ENGLAND:
Most runs: With 2,431 runs in 30 Test matches, former England captain Alastair Cook is at the top spot in this list followed by Joe Root at the second with 1,789 runs in 20 matches. Graham Gooch is third in this list with 1,725 runs in 19 matches.
Highest average: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has the best batting average for his country with 1016 runs in only nine matches at an average of 72.57 which is somewhat close to that of Ken Barrington 75.27 with 1355 runs in 14 matches. The current captain Joe Root averages 54.21.
Most centuries: England captain Alastair Cook made 7 centuries against India, which is the highest for an Englishman followed by Kevin Pietersen with 6 at the second spot. Joe Root, Graham Gooch as well as Ian Botham with 5 centuries each at the third position.
Most half-centuries: Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Ken Barrington have as many as 9 half-centuries each against India ,followed by Graham Gooch at the second spot with 8 and Kevin Pietersen at third with 6.
Most appearances: Alastair Cook is at the top position in this list one with 30 Test matches against India followed by David Gower with 24 matches, with Joe Root and Ian Bell with 20 matches each.
Highest innings total: England made a massive 710/7 declared at Birmingham in August 2011, which happens to be their highest total in an innings. It required India to send down as many as 188.1 overs.
Lowest innings total: England’s lowest ever total so far in Test cricket against India came at The Oval in August 1971 when they were bowled out for only 101 in 45.1 overs.
Most wickets: James Anderson is the only bowler to have taken more than 100 wickets for either sides in Test cricket. Anderson so far has 118 wickets in 30 matches, followed by 70 wickets for Stuart Broad at the second spot and 62 dismissals for Derek Underwood in 20 matches.
Best bowling performance: Fred Truman produced the best spell for England against India at Manchester in July 1952, as he returned with the figures of 8.4-2-31-8.
