IND vs ENG 2024: I’ve never seen something like that before – Ben Stokes on Ranchi pitch

England’s skipper Ben Stokes shared his surprise after noticing Ranchi pitch ahead of the fourth Test match against India. While the opening Test in Hyderabad was played on a rank-turner, the last two Test matches at Vizag and Rajkot have been played on flat pitches.

Stokes admitted he has no idea how the pitch would behave as this is the first time he has seen something like this in India. The all-rounder said the pitch is very dark and crumbly and there are quite a few cracks in it.

“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.

On the other hand, England’s vice-captain Ollie Pope noted that the one end of the pitch looks good whereas there are a lot of cracks on the other end.

“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 added.

Meanwhile, England suffered a huge hammering of 434 runs in the third Test match at Rajkot. Stokes admitted that the team is expected to be praised if the results go their way whereas they will be criticized if they don’t produce the goods.

“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 added.

India and England will next take on each other at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi in the fourth Test match from Friday.