Test Cricket: England won the toss opt to bat against India in Ranchi
In Cricket, fourth Test between India and England to begin in Ranchi today
The fourth cricket Test between India and England will begin today at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. The match will start at 9.30 AM.
The hosts are leading the five-match series 2-1 and will look forward to continue their winning streak. England, on the other hand, will try to win this particular match to remain alive in the series.
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson
Rohit Sharma – We would have batted first as well. Looks a bit dry and has some cracks, but that’s the nature of the pitch here. The last two games were good for us and we’ll have to play in the same way. Proud of a lot of young guys in the squad, they’ve taken the responsibility and have taken the challenge head-on. They are confident in their skills, moving forward it’s a good thing. One change with Akash Deep making his debut.
Ben Stokes – We will bat first. 2-1 down, a bit more important in the context of the series, but every game is important. The first one hour will give us an idea about how the pitch will play, but it was always going to be a bat-first track. My bowling is coming off well, it’s been a long time coming. I’m happy with the way we’ve operated throughout the series and looking forward to more of the same.
England have won the toss and have opted to bat
It looks like a dry river bed with a lot of cracks, the ball could explode and turn from certain areas and it could happen very early into the match. The captain winning the toss will opt to bat first. But the turn could be slow and low, some shots could be tough, but this ain’t a rank turner, opine Deep Dasgupta and Graeme Swann, in their pitch report
We do have a debutant confirmed with Akash Deep being handed his maiden Test cap by Rahul Dravid. He’s the 313th player to play Test cricket for India
Our man, Pratyush Sinha, is early at the venue and he sends us this: ‘Good morning from Ranchi. No indications yet if Akash Deep will make his debut but he did have a long chat with Siraj a short while ago. Plenty of smiles and laughs from both of them’