Rain is likely to play spoil sport during the 4th Test between India and England in Ranchi.
New Delhi: Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket is going to compete against Ben Stokes’ England cricket team in the fourth Test of the five-match series at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi, on February 23. Team India is leading the series 2-1 and have the opportunity to seal the series with a third consecutive win. However, Ranchi’s weather forecast predicts rain and overcast conditions.
As per the weather reports, There will be rain in Ranchi on 25 February (Sunday) and 27 February (Tuesday) which are Day 3 and 5 of the fourth Test. There is a 45 per cent chance of rain on Day 3 and 50 per cent chance of rain on Day 5. This can effect the result of the match, it can even end the match in a draw eventually.
With India opting to rest fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the upcoming fourth Test against England starting on Friday at the JSCA International Stadium, it means that the hosts’ have an uphill task at their hands in a bid to seal the series here.
India are also missing KL Rahul’s services due to a quadriceps injury sustained after playing in the opening Test at Hyderabad. The BCCI’s statement had read that Rahul was 90 per cent match-fit, but he was still ruled out of the Ranchi Test.
England have brought in fast-bowler Ollie Robinson and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir into their playing eleven for the fourth Test against India, starting here at the JSCA International Stadium on Friday.
The duo replace tearaway pacer Mark Wood and leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed respectively in the starting eleven at Ranchi, which shapes to be a crucial Test for England. The visitors’ are 2-1 behind in the ongoing five-match series following the heavy 434-run defeat at Rajkot.
The Ben Stokes-led side must win at Ranchi to force the last Test match at Dharamshala into a series decider. Robinson’s last Test match for England was the third Ashes game at Headingley last year, where he bowled just 11.2 overs in the first innings before a back spasm forced him on the sidelines for the rest of the series.
Squads
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Axar Patel, Srikar Bharat, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep
England (announced playing11): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir