India’s 2014 Test tour to England progressively turned from good to an almost endless bout of misery across five Tests that began with a draw at Trent Bridge and an epochal victory under MS Dhoni at Lord’s.
There was all sorts of on-field drama and off-field chatter going on, with then-skipper Dhoni even teasing his Test retirement four months before it actually turned out to be the case after winning at Lord’s. After England squared the series with a 266-run victory in Southampton, things spiralled out from India’s grip in their first Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester in the 21st century – their first appearance at the ground since 1990, that marked Sachin Tendulkar’s first international hundred.
It was unfettered chaos against the Dukes ball and the magical seam-bowling pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
‘Three ducks and in comes Dhoni
After opting to bat first, Dhoni saw his top-order crumble within minutes as Anderson and Broad packed off the top four inside 31 balls. Opener Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli fell on ducks while current head coach Gautam Gambhir was dismissed for four. Walking into an absolute scramble at 8 for four, Dhoni partially saved the blushes as he steered India out from trouble with a counter-punching knock.
Standing firm for 200 minutes at the crease, Dhoni smeared 15 fours as he went on to pile 71 runs in 133 runs. Only Ajinkya Rahane (24) and R Ashwin (40) joined Dhoni in double-digits as India were eventually wrapped up for 152 in only 46.4 overs. Lanky seamer Broad was the wrecker-in-chief as he registered match-defining figures of 6/25. But the rest of the Test would be a blue of broad, triggering a nightmare for himself after walking out to bat.
WATCH: MS Dhoni’s fighting 71 at Old Trafford
Varun Aaron’s nightmarish bouncer
While England went onto take a sizable 215-run lead over India, the hosts’ batting innings was blighted by the horrific sight of speedster Varun Aaron’s fiery bumper crashing into Broad’s helmet, leaving him with a shattered nose.
Batting at No 8 in that match, Broad smashed consecutive sixes off Aaron, before being struck on the face by a bouncer. The blow shattered Broad’s nose — requiring a surgery — and gave him a black eye. He returned with a protective face mask in the next Test after watching the final moments of England’s innings win at Manchester in the hospital.
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Broad, however, later revealed how the Aaron bumper may have left a deep impact inside him and even diminishing his batting skills thereafter. “I have had nightmares about it (the Varun Aaron bouncer). I have had times when I have felt the ball just about to hit my face in the middle of the night. It has been quite tough,” Broad revealed in a media event in 2015.
WATCH: Varun Aaron’s bouncer breaks Stuart Broad’s nose in Manchester
“After my operation, I don’t know if the drugs had anything to do with it, but I would wake up feeling like a ball had hit me in the face. Even when I get tired I see balls flying at me. My jaw clicks from it. Potentially it has affected my batting, but I am working with a psychologist on focusing on my process,” Broad added as his average dropped by nearly 10 runs after the injury setback for the rest of his career.
