India and England will kickoff later today in what is being considered as one of the most anticipated Test series of the year.
The first of the five-match series will be played in Birmingham, which is considered a fortress for England. The hosts, who are set to play their 1000th Test match at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, have won 27 matches out of a total 35 at the venue.
England don't have a better win-loss ratio at any other cricket ground in the country where they have played a minimum of seven matches, according to Cricket Country. England have also not lost at Edgbaston since August 2008, winning five of their last seven matches.
The hosts' superior record is no good news for Virat Kohli's men, who are looking for a good start to the long series.
Ravi Shastri's team faces an uphill task as no Indian captain has managed to win a Test against the hosts in Birmingham. India have played six Test matches at Edgbaston — lost five and managed to draw only one.
Kohli needs to achieve an unprecedented feat if the number one-ranked team are to walk the talk.
Here's a look at how the Indian teams in the past performed in Edgbaston
MS Dhoni's men crushed in 2011
A Dhoni-led side suffered a crushing innings-and-242-run defeat in Edgbaston during their trip to England in 2011.
It was the third Test of a four-match series, in which India were whitewashed 4-0.
Dhoni top scored with 77 after India were sent into bat first. The visitors could only manage 224 in the first innings and also conceded a mammoth 710 as Alastair Cook scored 294.
India were bowled out for 244 in the third innings with Dhoni top-scoring yet again with 74.
1996: Mohammad Azharuddin's men thrashed
India had begun a three-Test series, which they had lost 1-0, with a defeat in Birmingham.
India's No. 9 Javagal Srinath scored the only half-century in the first innings as the visitors were bowled out for 214.
Srinath along with his Karnataka teammate Venkatesh Prasad shone with eight wickets between them as India bowled out England for 313.
However, another weak batting performance in the second innings meant Azharuddin's men lost by eight wickets.
1986: Kapil Dev's Team India manages a draw
The only time India avoided a defeat in Edgbaston was in 1986. Indian batting unit stood up as a collective unit as they managed to level the scores (390 each) at the end of their first innings.
Chetan Sharma's six-wicket haul in the second innings meant England were bowled out for 235 in their second innings, leaving India with a good chance to script a historic win.
However, India took the safer approach and played out 78 overs and scored just 174. Gavaskar batted 135 balls for his 54 while a young Azharuddin took 106 balls for his unbeaten 29.
1979: Innings defeat for S Venkataraghavan-led side
David Gower scored a double ton and Geoffrey Boycott scored 155 as England posted a mammoth 633 on the board in the first innings, for which India had no answers.
Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath got a good start in both the innings but they received no support from the rest of the batting order.
Having bowled out for 257 and 293 in the first two innings, the tourists were handed an innings and 83-run defeat.
1974: Ajit Wadekar's men handed a thrashing
Sunil Gavaskar's twin failure meant India had one of their weakest batting shows at Edgbaston. The visitors were bowled out for 165 in the first innings.
In reply, David Lloyd's double ton helped England amass 459 runs for the loss of just two wickets.
Sudhir Naik's half-century was not enough for India as they were bowled out for 216 in their second innings, which meant a defeat with a margin of an innings and 78 runs.
1967: Tiger Pataudi's men suffer defeat in India's Edgbaston debut
India lost the match by 132 runs in their first-ever Test in Birmingham. They were bowled out for 97 in the first innings and struggled to recover after a horrid batting display.
However, the Test is memorable because it was the first and only time India's famous spin quartet — Bishan Singh Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Venkataraghavan and Erapalli Prasanna — played together.
They snared 19 of the 20 English wickets but their tremendous effort was still not enough for India to avoid a defeat.
