Michael Vaughan delivers "shocker" verdict on Ranchi pitch for IND vs ENG 4th Test
Published - 23 Feb 2024, 04:06 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 10:26 AM
Former England captain Michael Vaughan who has been very critical about England???s performance in the ongoing 5-match Test series in India, described the pitch for the 4th Test in Ranchi as an absolute ???shocker???. The track has remained quite unpredictable until now as the surface has produced a lot of bounce but has also remained pretty low on some occasions, accounting for the visitors??? turbulent start to the match.
The Three Lions have already lost 5 wickets after winning the toss and electing to bat first. It was a good toss to win for England but they have found difficulty in judging the lengths of the ball on a pitch that has created an uneven amount of bounce. It intrigued Michael Vaughan to claim that it???s always unfair to judge a pitch by the way it looks and that it should be judged after both teams bat and bowl on the track.
???Let???s be honest??? ??? Michael Vaughan criticizes curators for Ranchi track
England had got off to a decent start in the 1st innings at the JSCA stadium even though the pitch produced a surprising amount of bounce when debutant Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj bowled the first few overs. Akash Deep picked up the correct lengths and was lucky that the pitch offered him assistance as well.
He was denied his first wicket due to a no-ball but he made amends soon by removing Ben Duckett with an outside edge catch to wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel for 11 off 21. Then Ollie Pope became his second scalp of the day with an LBW before bowling a jaffa to clean the stumps of Zak Crawley.
After that, Jonny Bairstow received his marching orders from Ravichandran Ashwin who became the first Indian bowler to rack up 100 Test wickets against their English counterparts before Ravindra Jadeja claimed Ben Stokes with a low LBW trap. The ball did not bounce at all and it will definitely prove to be a tough surface to bat on as the match progresses.
???The old saying . Do not judge a pitch till both teams have batted and bowled on it, but let???s be honest, this one looks a shocker,??? Michael Vaughan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Joe Root steadies England???s ship
Following a crumbling start to their innings which saw the Indian bowlers walk over the English batting line-up, number 4 batter Joe Root, who has experienced a tough tour so far, has steadied England???s ship in the middle and is nearing towards his first half-century of the series.
His underwhelming performances in the first three Tests in Hyderabad, Vizag, and Rajkot along with Jonny Bairstow???s similar outings are among the main reasons why England suffered back-to-back losses in the 2nd and 3rd Test. If the Three Lions are to become the first team since 2012???s English side under Alastair Cook to get back home with a red-ball series win then Joe Root???s individual performances become very crucial.
Wicket-keeper batsman Ben Foakes is currently at the crease with Root as the visitors have reached the 150-run mark in 42 overs.
