(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] England Test captain Ben Stokes expressed astonishment upon inspecting the Ranchi pitch ahead of the fourth Test match against India, scheduled to commence on Friday.
Despite securing a victory in the first Test at Hyderabad by 28 runs, England find themselves trailing in the series with a 2-1 scoreline, as the hosts, India, mounted a comeback with consecutive wins at Vizag and Rajkot.
In a surprising twist, unlike previous encounters on Indian soil, where rank turners were the norm, the pitches this time around have shown a different character. Despite the absence of traditional spinner-friendly tracks, India has managed to outmaneuver the formidable English side, renowned for its aggressive ‘Bazball’ style of play.
With the match just a day away, discussions about pitch conditions have taken center stage. Speculations abound, with some anticipating a spinner-friendly surface in Ranchi, while others predict a more neutral pitch, offering assistance to both spinners and pacers.
Stokes, after inspecting the pitch on the eve of the match, admitted to have never such a surface before.
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so I don’t know what could happen,” Stokes said as quoted to the BBC Sport.
He described the pitch as appearing green and grassy from the changing rooms but very dark and crumbly with noticeable cracks once on the field.
“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 mentioned.
Vice-captain Ollie Pope, currently the third leading run-scorer in the series, also shared his observations, noting, “At the minute, it looks like batting from the far end, it’s outside the right-hander’s off stump and then from this end, the left-hander’s off-stump.”
Pope described the pitch as appearing favorable from one end but presenting challenges from the other.
“It just looks like it’s down the wicket, it’s kind of plated on one side and then the other side looks like a pretty good wicket,” Pope added.