Michael Vaughan has struck out at the surface as England lost five wickets in the first session of the fourth Test match between India and England in Ranchi. The former captain called it a “shocker,” even though he thinks it’s foolish to assess a surface before both sides have batted.
Following winning the toss, England elected to bat first and saw the ball hop around, noticeably affecting the surface assist seam. Debutant Akash Deep was denied a wicket in the fourth over after sending Zak Crawley’s stumps whirling around, but he had overstepped. But in his subsequent over, the right-arm seamer struck gold, dismissing Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, the other opener.
Eventually, Crawley was removed for his third wicket by Akash Deep, and Jonny Bairstow’s counterattacking innings were terminated by Ravichandran Ashwin. With England at 112-5 at the end of the session, Ravindra Jadeja trapped visiting captain Ben Stokes leg before wicket with a delivery that kept quite low.
“Do not judge a pitch till both teams have batted”- Michael Vaughan
As Michael Vaughan could not see his team collapsing against the formidable Indian bowling lineup, the tendency to blame the surface set in again with half of the England team back in the hut.
The visitors don’t like the surface, even though the ball touched the top of the off stump during Crawley’s dismissal. Even if there have been a few low deliveries, the longest format does not always provide teams with a batting paradise; rather, it tests players’ skill sets.
Though he quotes the saying, “Don’t judge a pitch until both teams have batted,” Michael Vaughan is taken aback by the way the surface is performing. Michael Vaughan tweeted about the surface:
“The old saying .. Do not judge a pitch till both teams have batted and bowled on it .. but let’s be honest .. this one looks a shocker.”
The one and only change made by the hosts from the previous test in Rajkot was to rest Jasprit Bumrah and give debut to Akash Deep.
England makes two changes for the crucial match
The visitors’ squad has seen a few changes. Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir got called in instead of Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed. It was also revealed before the Ranchi Test that Rehan Ahmed would be returning home via plane because of a critical emergency.
Ben Stokes and his team won the first Test in Hyderabad by a margin of 28 runs, but they were soundly defeated in the next two. For the series to continue, they must win in Ranchi or avoid losing it.