'I've never seen something like that before' - England skipper Ben Stokes reacts after seeing Ranchi pitch ahead of fourth Test

As the Test match approaches, the speculations related to the pitch’s behavior and nature have begun. There have been opinions and predictions that have started to float in from former cricketers as well as experts. In one such instance, England captain Ben Stokes expressed astonishment, stating that he had never encountered anything similar before. With England trailing 1-2 in the five-match series against India, winning the Ranchi Test is imperative for them to force a deciding fifth Test.

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The legendary England player also went on to discuss the deceptive appearance of the Ranchi pitch, initially noting a significant amount of grass cover. However, upon closer examination, numerous cracks became apparent, indicating potential challenges for both batters and bowlers. Moreover, the Ranchi pitch is often expected to get dry as the game progresses which eventually helps the spinner as the Test progresses.

"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.

It kind of looks like one half is good: Ollie Pope

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Meanwhile, England's vice-captain, Ollie Pope pointed out a notable aspect of the pitch, emphasizing the presence of rough patches outside the "off stump" for right-handed batters. These conditions could potentially favor India's top off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, and enable him to exploit the pitch during the fourth Test.

"It kind of looks like one half is good and then there's a lot of platey cracks at the other. 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 said as reported by Cricbuzz.