Analysing India's overall performance at scheduled Test venues

Virat Kohli and his men will be raring to taste success after 11 years in the upcoming Test series in England. Since the 2007 series victory, the Indian team has struggled to mark their dominance in England, failing badly in 2011 and 2014.

On 01 Aug 2018, the highly anticipated clash between these two elite teams is set to begin. A brief list of schedule for the Test series is given below:

1st Test- Edgbaston, Birmingham (01-05 Aug)

2nd Test- Lord's, London (09-13 Aug)

3rd Test- Trent Bridge, Nottingham (18-22 Aug)

4th Test- The Rose Bowl, Southampton (Aug 30-03 Sep)

5th Test- Kennington Oval, London (07-11 Sep)

After getting the Test status, India played their debut match against England at Lord's, London in 1932. Since then, the Indian team has played 57 Test matches in England out of which 42 has been played in the venues mentioned above. Though India has won only 4 matches across these venues, 3 out of those were instrumental in their successful tours to England (1971,1986 and 2007), resulting in a series victory.

As the cricket world is gearing up for this high-voltage drama, let's have a look at India's overall performance at the 5 venues.

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#1: Edgbaston, Birmingham

India has never won a test match at Edgbaston

Termed as 'the worst hunting ground' for India in England, India has never won a Test match in Birmingham. In 6 matches at Edgbaston ground, the Indian team has lost 5 out of it and managed a solitary draw in 1986 Test series.

To add more to the existing woes, 3 out of 5 losses resulted in an innings victory for the England team, biggest of those were by an innings and 242 runs in 2011. Looks like the England team are 'invincible' at this venue against India.

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#2: Lord's, London

Lord's- The home of cricket

The Indian team has had some of the memorable moments in Indian history at the home of cricket, starting from Dada's shirtless celebration (2002) to a 2nd win at Lord's after 28 years in 2014(1st in 1986). Although their overall statistics at this ground doesn't seem to be appreciable.

In 17 matches at Lord's, the Indian team has drawn 4 matches, losing out on the other 11 encounters.

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#3: Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Trent Bridge, Nottingham: A famous series victory for India in 2007

The solitary win at this ground which came in 2007, helped the Indian team clinch their 3rd series victory in England. India came out with their best performance, succeeding England in all departments. Zaheer Khan provided a MOM performance with 9 wickets for the match, leading to a famous win.

Apart from that glory, in 6 matches played here, India have managed to draw 3 encounters, losing the rest (2 matches).

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#4: The Rose Bowl, Southampton

A typical Asian ground in England

The Rose Bowl, Southampton is a new ground to the Test format, with only 2 Tests being played since its debut in 2011. The last match played there was against India in 2014 where the overseas team had a terrible outing, losing the match by a huge margin of 244 runs.

It was an unforgettable defeat for the Indian team, as they went down to an off spinner (Moeen Ali) in the 2nd innings which was indeed ironic, since they were termed as 'best players of spin bowling'.

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#5: Kennington Oval, London

One of the oldest venues in England

India's 1st ever Test win in England came after a 39-year wait at this ground in 1971. Consequently, Ajit Wadekar, the then Indian captain, led India to their first ever series win in England in Kennington Oval.

Although, India holds a poor record at this ground, with 3 innings defeat at their face. In 12 matches, India have drawn 7 matches and have lost 4 at the famous venue.