RANCHI: If you course through the chaos of the fast-developing industrial city that is Ranchi and get to the JSCA Cricket Stadium, it seems like an anomaly. It's quaint in its own way and the breezy weather means you wouldn't break a sweat. On the eve of the fourth Test between India and England, one batter was actually sweating it out in the nets — Shubman Gill.
Gill, one of the few batters who hardly misses even an optional training session, was working with batting coach Vikram Rathour on his footwork against spin. With it being an optional training, most main players were understandably absent. The one interesting bowler who was present was Akash Deep. The Bengal pacer was actually working on his batting in the nets and spent a significant amount of time doing the fielding drills.
It could be an indication of Akash Deep making his Test debut, or maybe not. However, why has it come to this? Jasprit Bumrah, the leading wicket-taker of the series so far, has been rested for the all-important match in Ranchi to manage his workload. Which meant, either of Mukesh Kumar/Akash Deep or an extra spinner could come into the picture based on how the surface looks on match day.
On Thursday, England captain Ben Stokes observed that some grass had been shaved off, but that apart, there was not much change to what they saw — some cracks — on Wednesday. While the England camp expects the surface to assist spinners, they have made two changes, bringing in Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir while retaining James Anderson in the playing XI. Stokes emphasised the high-arm release action of Bashir could perhaps help him a bit more than what Rehan Ahmed could offer on the surface. That said, the England captain said irrespective of how the pitch plays out, they have the arsenal to adapt.
Historically, the Ranchi surface has suited the batters, irrespective of what it looked like. In 2017, the India-Australia game went into five days with Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha scoring centuries. Although the South Africa Test ended in three days, Rohit Sharma scored a double hundred, Ajinkya Rahane hit a century before Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav ran through the visiting line-up. Kagiso Rabada, too, troubled the Indian batting, and a part of it was because of the overcast weather and the breeze that came into play. On Friday, too, the conditions were similar with light drizzle in the afternoon, with the surface under covers. This makes it all the more interesting to see how the pitch looks on Friday and what the teams do if they win the toss.
For India, it would be a no-brainer to bat first. There is no change expected in the batting order with five of the top-six scoring runs in Rajkot. Even Dhruv Jurel and R Ashwin contributed, leaving behind Rajat Patidar. While it was expected that he could make way for KL Rahul in Ranchi, the Karnataka batter was declared unfit by the BCCI at the last moment. Which means, Patidar is set to keep his place for now, unless the team management adds Washington Sundar into the mix. However, that is not likely as Rathour threw his weight behind Patidar when asked about his position in the team.
"We are constantly speaking. One doesn't become a bad player because of two matches. He has scored a lot of runs to get into the team. He had a tough two games, awkward dismissals, where some balls have stopped on him. It can happen. This is how the game goes. But there is no doubt that he is an absolutely good player and he will come up with a very impactful innings," the batting coach said in the pre-match presser.
When it comes to bowling, however, India could be tested. Yes, Mohammed Siraj has taken wickets and so have the three spinners. But not having to face Bumrah comes as a morale booster for England. And this England team's fuel is confidence. They are not flustered, at least not admitting it publicly, and are designed to play the way they want to without worrying about returns. They are constantly practising reverse-sweeps; Joe Root has been attempting to sweep everything he can while Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley have been happy to come up with big shots whenever possible. Then there is Robinson, who could be very effective on this surface. One bad day and India could be on the back foot with England running away and taking the series scoreline to 2-2.
Which is why, India would want to seal the series in Ranchi and not take it to the decider in Dharamsala. Australia learnt it the hard way, and had to be happy with a drawn series in the last Ashes. This series might not have a drawn result, it is either going to be India or England. And we might just have the answer for it over the next five days.