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'Never Seen Something Like That...,' 4th Test Pitch Leaves Ben Stokes Confused & Surprised

image-lswxz4g2Ben Stokes (X.com)

The five-match Test series between India and England has turned out to be quite an entertaining affair. India are leading the series by a 2-1 margin after going down in the first Test and would be itching to win the fourth Test at Ranchi and take that an unassailable lead in the series.

However, the big question is, how the pitch will behave at Ranchi? Everytime a Test match is played in India, this question take the centrestage and though we have not seen rank-turners in this series, there is quite a possibility that Ranchi will finally deliver one.

Ben Stokes, the English skipper also was bit confused and surprised by the look of the pitch and mentioned that he has never seen a pitch like the Ranchi one before. 

He added that the pitch looks green and grassy from the changing rooms but looks pretty dark when one glances it from a close corner. 

He also stated that there are many cracks on the pitch which are clear indication that the pitch for fourth Test might help spinners a lot.

“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.

England have announced their playing XI before the game and have dropped Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed to accommodate Ollie Robison and Shoaib Bashir. Also, there is a possibility of Ben Stokes bowling in this Test match, if the need arises which are good signs for the visitors.

India, on the other hand, might play only one pacer in form of Mohammed Siraj if the wicket is spinner friendly as Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the fourth Test.