India had won the T20 Internationals 2-1. England won the ODIs by an identical margin. Virat Kohli and Joe Root s men will now clash in whites for a five-Test series, starting at Edgbaston on August 1. Subsequent Tests will be played at Lord s, Trent Bridge, Rose Bowl, and The Oval. This is likely to be a keenly contested series, given England s general home success and India s recent performance in South Africa. Ahead of the match, here is a statistical preview.
999 Tests played by England. The Edgbaston Test will be their 1,000th. No team comes remotely close (Australia is next, with 812).
3.375 England s win-loss ratio at Edgbaston (27 wins, 8 defeats), their best at any home ground where they have played more than 6 Tests, which pretty much makes the ground their fortress. In fact, England do not have a better win-loss ratio anywhere in the world where they have played more than 17 Tests.
0.2 India s win-loss ratio in England (6 wins, 30 defeats). However, the number looks better (0.5) since 1986 (5 wins, 10 defeats).
5 Tests lost by India at Edgbaston, out of 6. They have managed a solitary draw here, in 1986 and have lost in 1967, 1974, 1979, 1996, and 2011.
1 win needed by Kohli as captain to go past Sourav Ganguly (21) and reach second spot among Indian captains in history. Only MS Dhoni (27) has won more Tests as captain.
1 instance of India winning the first Test of a series on English soil, back in 1986. India won the series 2-0.
93 runs needed by Murali Vijay (3,907) to reach the 4,000-run mark in Test cricket. Vijay will become the 16th Indian and 128th overall to the landmark.
107 runs needed by Ajinkya Rahane (2,893) to reach the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket. Rahane will become the 22nd Indian and 191st overall to the landmark.
40 runs needed by Root (5,960) to reach the 6,000-run mark in Test cricket. Root will become the 15th English cricketer and 65th overall to the landmark.
24 runs needed by Stuart Broad (2,976) to reach the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket. Broad will become the 43rd English cricketer and 191st overall to the landmark.
4 cricketers have done the 3,000 run-400 wicket double in Test cricket Kapil Dev (5,248 runs, 434 wickets), Richard Hadlee (3,124 and 431), Shane Warne (3,154 and 708), and Shaun Pollock (3,781 and 421). Broad (2,976 and 417) is very close to the landmark.
5 wickets needed by Broad (417) to break through to the top ten in the list of all-time wicket-takers. Broad is tied with Harbhajan Singh, and is 4 wickets behind Pollock and Dale Steyn. His teammate James Anderson is at 5th spot, with 540.
55 runs needed by Jos Buttler (945) to reach the 1,000-run mark in Test cricket. Buttler will become the 102nd English cricketer and 536th overall to the landmark.
2 wickets needed by Ben Stokes (98) to reach the 100-wicket mark in Test cricket. Stokes will become the 47th English cricketer and 687th overall to the landmark.
4 English cricketers have done the 2,500 run-100 wicket double in Test cricket Ian Botham (5,200 runs and 383 wickets), Tony Greig (3,599 and 141), Andrew Flintoff (3,795 and 219), and Broad (2,976 and 417). Both Stokes (2,579 and 98) and Moeen Ali (2,495 and 133) are very close to the landmark. In all, 21 cricketers have achieved this.
2 uncapped players in the Indian squad Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur. They may add to the list of 290 Indian capped players.
1 uncapped players in the English squad Jamie Porter. He may become the 687th England Test cricketer.