- July 3, 2025
Every cricket supporter has that one ground where their team just doesn’t perform to the level to which it is capable. For Indian supporters, that ground where their team has never been able to get it done is Edgbaston in Birmingham. India has hosted world-class lineups, individual brilliance, and even ignored parts of a dominant session, and still managed to walk away winless in every one of the eight test matches it has played there. As the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy heats, the Men in Blue return to the ground of their greatest heartbreaks. But could it finally be this time?
A History Painted in Pain: Why Edgbaston Hurts More
It’s not just that India has never won a Test match at Edgbaston — it’s the loss itself. The numbers are ugly: 8 matches, 7 losses, 1 draw. But between the numbers is a history of collapses, missed chances, and that frustrating feeling of “what might have been.”
Take 2019, for example. Chasing a modest 194, Virat Kohliumer was in god-mode – following a sublime 149 in the first innings and was not out 43 with Dinesh Karthik at the other end. India had fallen to 110/5 on day 4, proving they were in the box seat, but were done by 31 runs as England chipped away. That defeat was all too typical – hope dangled before them only to be snatched at the last moment.
Then we have 2022 – India made 416 in the first innings and pressured England, but lost. Bairstow’s twin tons and England chased down an improbable 378 record, ending whatever illusion of control India thought or felt they had. Time and time again, Edgbaston has married safety with worry and turned it into chaos – or freneticism could be a more appropriate term.
Not Just Edgbaston: The Global Bogey Grounds List
Kensington Oval in Barbados has hosted 9 tests – all gone without a win, including two horrible innings defeats. In 1997, India needed just 120 to win. They managed just 81.
Old Trafford in Manchester is similar: 9 matches, 4 defeats, and 5 draws. Even Sachin Tendulkar’s first test hundred in 1990 just saved a draw after India had been set to chase 408. Karachi and Lahore have been graveyards too, with seam, swing, and pressure having devoured India over the decades.
There is a theme developing here: every time India has visited some of the sites notorious for either difficult conditions or deep psychological scars, they have not been able to impose themselves. It has either been a batting collapse or a loss of momentum in the field, where something went wrong.
Why 2025 Might Be Different
So why should the supporters believe that this time will be any different? Three words: form, firepower, and familiarity.
This Indian side has promise, and is young in places, but is full of match-winners. Rishabh Pant is back and swinging like the chaos-merchant he is. Bumrah is fit, rested, and line to define a legacy tour. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill bring bold eyes and untamed ambition — a new-gen swagger that doesn’t flinch in foreign conditions. This is not the shy India of the 90s, or even the near-miss India. These guys have tasted winning cricket in Australia and England.
India’s record at Edgbaston may be miserable, but sport is a funny old game. Every jinx or hoodoo is beaten eventually — South Africa can tell you about winning in Australia, Sri Lanka about winning in England. The question is no longer about whether India can win at Edgbaston. The question is whether India is ready to exorcise the ghost and to turn the page. Will this be the tour the past when to heal? Or will Edgbaston remain India’s cursed cricket cathedral? Let’s find out.
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