English skipper Ben Stokes won the toss in Ranchi and opted to bat first against India in the fourth Test match on Friday, Febuary 23. (Scorecard | IND Vs ENG Blog | Cricket News)
England are 1-2 down in the five-match Test series after losing the third one in Rajkot by 434 runs.
Speaking at the toss, Ben Stokes said, "We will bat first. 2-1 down, a bit more important in the context of the series, but every game is important. The first one hour will give an idea about how the pitch will pl;ay, but it was always going to be a bat-first track. My bowling is coming off well, it's been a long time coming. I'm happy with the way we've operated throughout the series and looking forward to more of the same."
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma too added that they would have batted first. He said, "We would have batted first as well. Looks bit dry and has some cracks, but that's the nature of the pitch here. The last two games were good for us and we'll have to play in the same way. Proud of a lot of young guys in the squid, they've taken the responsibilityand have taken the challenge head-on. They are confident in their skills, moving forward, it's a good thing for us going forward. One change with Akash Deep making his debut."
England cricket team player Rehan Ahmed won't be featuring on the Indian tour. The young spinner has returned home on personal grounds.
"Rehan Ahmed will return home for personal reasons with immediate effect from England Men's Test tour of India. He will not be returning to India. England will not be replacing Ahmed for the rest of the tour," said an official confirmation from the English camp.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
