The Ranchi pitch has got the England camp thinking. Captain Ben Stokes and vice-captain Ollie Pope both shared similar views about the 22 yards for the India vs England fourth Test. It is set to turn but how quickly and how much are the big questions in the visitors’ minds. The pitches in this series have been anything but rank turners. Hyderabad offered the most to the spinners but it was by no means unplayable.
India were quick to realize that pitches offering excessive turn will only bring the inexperienced England spinners into play. After a defeat in the first Test, the pitches in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot were much better for batting and it started to break as the match progressed, bringing India’s spinners into the game. The results followed.
Change in pitches makes Ben Stokes wonder about England’s chances of comeback in test series
India won the second Test by 106 runs and then registered their biggest-ever Test win (in terms of runs) when they pummeled England by 434 runs in the third Test in Rajkot to take a 2-1 lead.
To be fair to England. They have done their best to steer away from the discussion around pitches during this series. But with Jasprit Bumrah not around for the all-important fourth fixture, it was almost a given that the hosts would change their stance. And if Ben Stokes observation is to be believed, they already had.
Ben Stokes baffled by the pitch at Ranchi a day ahead of 4th Test
England captain Ben Stokes was baffled by the pitch for the upcoming fourth Test against India in Ranchi, claiming that he can’t figure out how will it play. The 32-year-old opined that it appeared as if plenty of grass was contained on the track; however, there were quite a few cracks when looked closely.
The pitch for the opening Test of the series in Hyderabad had a considerable turn. However, the decks for the next two matches in Vishakhapatnam and Rajkot played significantly true. With England playing two specialist seamers for the first time in the series in the previous Test, it will be interesting to see the combination they go for in Ranchi.
Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the fourth Test, the Stokes claimed the following about the pitch:
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so I don’t know what could happen. If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India.”
“It looked green and grassy up in the changing rooms, but then you go out there it looked different: very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it.”
Stokes described the Ranchi pitch for the fourth Test as something he has never seen. So he doesn’t know how it will play. The pitch looked greenish from a distance but when you go close, it has cracks in it, he said. “It looked interesting, didn’t it? I don’t know. I can’t say much. I don’t know, I’ve never seen something like that before so I have got no idea,” Stokes said, when asked how it might play. “I don’t know what could happen.
The England captain Ben Stokes is also likely to bowl for the first time in the series.
“If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India. It looked green and grassy up in the changing-rooms, but then you go out there, it looked different. Very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it.”
The Englishmen won the first Test of the five-match series in Hyderabad by 28 runs. But they find themselves under pressure after losing comprehensively in Vishakhapatnam and Rajkot to go down 2-1.
Ben Stokes on 434 runs loss vs India at Rajkot.
Reflecting on England’s heavy 434-run loss in Rajkot, Stokes feels such defeats are part and parcel of the game, but they have left it behind already. He added:
“It’s sport. You get plaudits when it goes well and not when it doesn’t. It’s part of it, I’ve been around long enough to know that, but we crack on. Defeats like last week can have a bigger effect on the team that it needs to be. But I’m comfortable with how I addressed that.”
“I know it’s the next game that counts. Me, as a person, and I’m sure every player in the dressing-room has reflected in some way on that game. But in terms of the result, no.”
According to reports, Ollie Robinson is likely to earn a recall for the fourth Test. Meanwhile, Stokes is expected to bowl in professional cricket for the first time since the 2023 Ashes series. The Durham all-rounder has decent numbers with the ball, taking 197 wickets in 100 Tests at 32.07. However, he last bowled in professional cricket during the Lord’s Test of the 2023 Ashes series.
Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focused on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory. England need to win the last two Tests to clinch the series, with India leading the five-match series 2-1. It will be interesting to see if they make changes to their playing XI for the fourth Test against India, which will start on February 23.