Indian pitches have always kept visiting players and foreign media talking. Ranchi pitch wasn’t an aberration. The pitch was erratic for sure. But the likes of Joe Root, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel showed how to play on the pitch in IND vs ENG 4th Test. However, England folded for 145 in the 2nd innings. And former India captain Ravi Shastri did not leave the opportunity to take a dig at Ollie Pope.
England vice-captain called the pitch was “prepared of soil from Mars.” After Ollie Pope fell for a golden duck and a silver duck in both innings, Shastri took a dig.
“The pitch was called all sorts of planets before the start. And those who talked about it did not get runs. Ollie Pope was one. Don’t play the pitch, play the ball. Rohit Sharma will do that on Day 4,” Ravi Shastri said during commentary on Day 4 of IND vs ENG Ranchi Test.
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England surrender
Despite taking a 46-run lead, England failed to capitalise on that. In the second innings, Ravichandran Ashwin bagged a fifer and Kuldeep Yadav scalped four as England were bowled out for 145, giving India only 192-run target.
Ravi Shastri blamed the England batters for the debacle.
“As a batter, you should be clear in your mind what shots you should play instead of talking about pitch,” Shastri said.
India ended Day 3 with 40/0 with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal playing a steady hand.
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