A crack at series victory: On a ‘crumbly’ deck, India have a chance to secure first series win over Bazballers
RANCHI, February 22
India will secure a series victory with a win against England in the fourth Test beginning here tomorrow but they must do so without their pace spearhead against a touring side looking to uphold their aggressive style of play.
A 2-1 cushion in the five-match series has allowed India to rest Jasprit Bumrah, the leading wicket-taker of the series, for the match to manage his workload.
With Mohammed Shami missing the series with an ankle injury, the onus is now on Mohammed Siraj to lead India’s pace attack. Akash Deep is expected to make his Test debut as the second seamer.
2 Ravichandran Ashwin (348) requires two scalps to reach 350 wickets in Tests on home soil
13 Ravindra Jadeja needs 13 wickets to become the the seventh Indian player to get to 300 Test wickets
3 Ben Stokes is three short of 200 Test wickets. He will be only the third all-rounder after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis to complete the double of 6,000 runs and 200 wickets
India, who have not lost a Test series on home soil since defeat to England in 2012, are expected to pick a spin-heavy attack on a pitch that already has cracks at both ends.
Middle-order batter KL Rahul, who injured his thigh in the opening Test in Hyderabad, has not recovered yet but India will take heart from Sarfaraz Khan’s twin fifties in his debut Test in Rajkot.
Wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who also made his debut in Rajkot, struck a fluent 46 to prove he is no dud with the bat either.
“The youngsters are really smart, which is a great news for us,” India batting coach Vikram Rathour said today. “Of course, our domestic cricket is so strong that you are pretty assured that only quality players are coming through. “We are missing some key players but a home series is always a good opportunity for the young talents to play in familiar conditions and establish themselves in the side.”
Aggressive approach
Smarting from their defeat by 434 runs in Rajkot, England have brought in seamer Ollie Robinson and spinner Shoaib Bashir, replacing Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed.
The shellacking also prompted questions about England’s ultra-aggressive approach, which many feel borders on recklessness.
England captain Ben Stokes, who is tipped to resume bowling in this match following knee surgery last November, has brushed aside the backlash.
The look of the pitch in Ranchi was a greater concern for the 32-year-old as he plots ways to keep England alive in the series.
“I’ve never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so I don’t know what could happen,” Stokes said. “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.” — Reuters
