Old Trafford has definitely earned the status as the “draw capital” of English cricket this season. With the fourth India-England Test concluding in a stalemate on Sunday, every first-class match played at Manchester’s iconic venue this season has ended in a draw — four County Championship matches featuring Lancashire, and now a high-profile Test match.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!As the final day at Old Trafford ended with handshakes and unclaimed victory spoils, murmurs grew louder over the state of the pitch. Bat continued to dominate ball, and time ultimately proved the greatest adversary.
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Should teams reconsider their decision to bowl first at Old Trafford?
India, trailing by 311 after England’s mammoth first innings of 669, fought their way back to 425/4 in the second innings. Skipper Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar all scored centuries as the visitors ground out a morale-boosting draw. Despite being 0-2 at one point, India batted for more than five sessions without losing a wicket.
However, India’s winless streak at Old Trafford stretched to 10 Tests, the most they have played at any venue without a single win.The match also reinforced a remarkable statistic: no team has ever won a Test at Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first. Of the 12 such instances, nine have ended in draws, and the other three were defeats for the team bowling first.Despite the draw, the Test had individual milestones to celebrate. Ben Stokes etched his name into the history books by becoming only the third cricketer to amass 7,000 Test runs and take 200 wickets, joining legends Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis. His all-round performance — a blistering 141 and a five-wicket haul — was the highlight for England.
Joe Root, too, had his moment, overtaking Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history.But as Lancashire prepare to return to Old Trafford for their next County clash against Glamorgan on July 29, the question looms: can anyone win here anymore?
