Sachin did it at 17! Can Gill finally give old Trafford a ton after decades of none?

India head into the 4th Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Old Trafford trailing 2-1, following a narrow 22-run defeat at Lord’s. As the series hangs in the balance, history reminds them of a daunting challenge at Manchester.

Across nine attempts over the last 90 years, India have faced defeat four times at Old Trafford – twice by margins exceeding 100 runs and twice by innings defeats. But it isn’t just the match results that haunt India here. It’s also an age-old batting drought.

Only eight Indian batters have scored a century at Old Trafford, Manchester. Syed Mushtaq Ali was the first to achieve this feat in 1936, and in the same match, Vijay Merchant followed with a hundred in the second innings. Abbas Ali Baig later became the third Indian to register a century at this venue. The last time an Indian batter reached three figures at Old Trafford was back in 1990, when a teenage Sachin Tendulkar announced himself to the world. Playing only his second Test in England, the 17-year-old crafted a sublime century to rescue India from defeat. Since then, despite generations of batting stalwarts – from Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, and Virender Sehwag to modern celebrities like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – no Indian has managed to score a Test hundred at Manchester.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes captain Shubman Gill could be the one to end this drought. “I believe he has the ability to carry forward his form,” Manjrekar said. “During this break, perhaps with some introspection and conversations with his friends and father about the recent altercation. He just needs to focus on his captaincy, fielding, tactics, and batting. If he does that, I believe the run-making machine that was once in motion is well-oiled and will start running again at Old Trafford,” via Jio Hotstar.

Echoing the spotlight on Gill, former Australian captain Greg Chappell told PTI, “As India prepare for the final two Tests of their series in England, the spotlight now shines firmly on their 25-year-old captain Shubman Gill. A bright young talent, he has shown greatness with the bat and glimpses of leadership potential, but this moment will define his trajectory as a Test captain.” Chappell added, “His bat can't always do the talking. He must learn to speak in a way that aligns the group, encourages belief, and creates trust.”

Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan has questioned Gill’s attitude during the third Test, suggesting it fired up England and gave them an edge ahead of the fourth Test. "When things got spicy on the third evening, I felt that brought the best out of England for the remainder of the game. Shubman Gill did not look as technically tight or calm as usual when he came out to bat on the fourth evening, but his team fought so hard on Monday in a fabulous Test," he wrote in a national daily. 

As the team prepares for the decisive clash starting July 23, all eyes will indeed be on Shubman Gill. Leading from the front, he has amassed 607 runs in the series so far. He will be aiming not just to level the series but also silence the critics questioning his attitude and also to end India’s 34-year-long century drought at Old Trafford – and etch his name alongside Tendulkar in the venue’s history books.

The third Test at Lord’s was a close contest, with India narrowly losing by just 22 runs. Starting from July 23, they will be eyeing a strong comeback in Manchester to level the series 2-2.