- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
England squandered their advantage of going up 1-0 up in the series by losing two successive matches in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot and are now in danger of losing the series.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes, who is trying to reassess the plot after his side lost two Tests on the trot against India to squander an 1-0 advantage in the five-match series, was taken aback by the wicket in Ranchi where the fourth game will begin on Friday (23).
The surface at JSCA International Stadium Complex has cracks running down on one side, just outside a right-hand batter’s off stump at one end and a left-hand batter’s stump at the other.
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so I don’t know what could happen,” the visiting skipper told BBC Sports.
“If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India.”
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The 32-year-old all-rounder, who may bowl in the game to make a difference for his side, said while the wicket looked green and grassy up in the changing rooms, the appearance changed to very dark and crumbly with quite a few cracks as one went nearer.
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The Three Lions, who won the first match in Hyderabad by 28 runs before losing the second in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs and the third in Rajkot by a mammoth 434 runs, made two changes to their playing XI for the fourth game. Pacer Ollie Robinson replaced Mark Wood while spinner Shoaib Bashir returned in the place of Rehan Ahmed. James Anderson and Tom Hartley complete the bowling line-up.
Stokes initially decided not to bowl on this tour due to his issues with the knee but after the hammering his team received in the third match, he opened the door to the possibility of bowling in the final two matches. He said he has been able to bowl at “100 per cent” in training.
The Durham cricketer was seen bowling for 35 minutes at the nets and followed it with a long conversation with Glen Rae, the team physician.
England came under heavy criticism following the defeat in Rajkot, which is their heaviest in 90 years. Stokes, however, was not surprised by the reactions saying praise and criticism are part and parcel of the game.
India rested their ace paceman Jasprit Bumrah for the fourth Test, which may see 27-year-old seamer Akash Deep making his Test debut.
