Samira Vishwas
Tezzbuzz|18-07-2025
Old Trafford, Manchester’s ground offers a balanced pitch for Test cricket, which is beneficial for both batsmen and bowlers. Following are the characteristics of this pitch:
Delhi: The fourth match of the five matches between India and England is going to start at the historic Old Trafford ground in Manchester from 23 July. The England team is ahead in the current series with a 2–1 lead, while this Test is a do or dying opportunity for India, where the Shubman Gill-led team will try to equalize in the series.
Earlier let’s look at the pitch report of Old Treffered ground in Manchester and the weather mood during the match:
Old Trafford, Manchester’s ground offers a balanced pitch for Test cricket, which is beneficial for both batsmen and bowlers. Following are the characteristics of this pitch:
Old Trafford’s pitch is usually suited for batting in the first two days. On the fresh pitch, the batsmen get good bounce and speed, which keeps a chance to make big scores. Fast bowlers can initially get swing and seam movement with a new ball, especially in the morning session, when cloudy. The toss -winning team usually likes to bat first.
As the match progresses, cracks begin to develop in the pitch, which gives the bowlers additional bounce and turn. The spinners start getting help on the pitch from the third day. For fast bowlers, opportunities to take wickets increase due to uneven bounce and seam movement.
On the fifth day, the pitch becomes challenging for batting. Spinners get more turn and bounce, while fast bowlers get help due to uneven bouncing. It is difficult to chase the target in the fourth innings, especially if the score is more than 200.
Manchester’s weather can play an important role during the Test match, as this area is known for rain. The weather forecast for 23-27 July 2025 is:
India has played 9 Tests so far in Old Trafford, out of which they did not win a single win (4 defeats, 5 draws). This ground has been challenging for India. Apart from this, only four of the Indian bowlers (Lala Amarnath, Veenu Mankad, Surendranath, and Dilip Doshi) have taken five wickets in an innings here. Since 1982, no Indian bowler has been able to take 5 wickets hall here.