Ben Stokes left dumbfounded after looking at Ranchi's pitch ahead of 4th Test vs India, says 'I've never seen something like that...'

Upon his first glimpse of the Ranchi pitch for the fourth Test against India, England's captain Ben Stokes was taken aback, remarking he had ‘never encountered anything like it before.’ With England currently behind 1-2 in the five-match series, a victory in Ranchi is crucial to keep their hopes alive for a series decider. Notably, the fourth Test between India and England will start from February 23 at Ranchi's JSCA stadium.

Stokes reacts to Ranchi's deceptive pitch

Stokes shared his observations about the Ranchi pitch's misleading look, initially perceiving it to be lush with grass. Yet, a more detailed examination revealed numerous cracks, indicating it could pose difficulties for both batsmen and bowlers.

"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 told BBC Sport.
 

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Pope too commented on pitch

 

In the meantime, Ollie Pope, England's vice-captain, pointed out a notable characteristic of the pitch, observing numerous rough areas outside the "right-hander's off stump." This observation suggests that India's leading off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, could take advantage of these conditions in the fourth Test to challenge the batsmen.

 

"It kind of looks like one half is good and then there's a lot of platey cracks at the other," Pope noted. "At the minute, it looks like batting from the far end, there's rough outside the right-hander's off-stump. For example, Ashwin's going to bowl from that end from over-the-wicket because he might want to bowl it into the rough," Pope was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

 

"And from this end, it's outside the left-hander's off-stump," the batter added. "That's how we see it at the minute. I think we will see what happens tomorrow after the Indian team has looked at the wicket, then make a decision from there," he further added.

 

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England faced a substantial defeat by 434 runs in the Rajkot Test, falling behind 1-2 in the series. Reflecting on the setback, Stokes mentioned that England has moved past the Rajkot debacle.

 

"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," Stokes concluded.

 

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Surprisingly, England captain Stokes was seen participating in bowling drills in nets, reportedly delivering overs for around 20 minutes during a practice session ahead of fourth Test against India.

 

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