Match Preview – India vs England, England tour of India 2024, 4th Test

Overview: Joe Root looks to bounce back

England have not lost a Test series in the Bazball era. Of the seven series completed during this period, they have won four and drawn three. However, that could change over the next five days as India – after beating England by 434 runs in Rajkot – go into the fourth Test in Ranchi with a 2-1 lead.

At various points in the series, the Indian batting line-up looked shaky. But with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill back among the carries, and Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel making impressive debuts, that no longer seems to be an issue.

Their bowling team in Ranchi, however, might be the weakest so far. They rested Jasprit Bumrah, the most influential bowler with 17 wickets at 13.64 in the first three Tests. Perhaps to compensate for this, they prepared a pitch about which Ben Stokes said: “I've never seen anything like that before.” But more on that later.

As far as England are concerned, their middle order needs to fire. Bumrah's absence should therefore bring some relief, particularly to Joe Root; Bumrah dismissed him nine times in 13 Tests, including three times in this series. As a result, Root has scored just 77 runs in six innings so far on this tour, and his average of 12.83 is the second worst for him in a Test series.

Another positive for England is that Stokes looks set to return to bowling. Given the England captain's ability to make breakthroughs, the prospect must be tantalizing, but the visitors will be careful to pluck the fruit before it is ripe.

Form Guide

India WWLWL (last five tests, most recent first)
England LLWWD

In the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jonny Bairstow

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been head and shoulders above every other batter in this series. In six innings, Jaiswal smashed 545 runs at an average of 109.00. Ben Duckett, with 288 at 48:00, is far behind. And it's not just the runs, but also the way Jaiswal scored them. He batted at a strike rate of 81.10, and his 22 sixes are already the most by a batter in a bilateral Test series. If England want to level the series, they need to find a way to stop it.

Jonny Bairstow is at the opposite end of the spectrum. With Ben Foakes taking over the wicketkeeping duties, he was expected to bat without any worries. But so far in the series, he has managed only 102 runs at an average of 17.00. The team management, however, is not worried. According to head coach Brendon McCullum, they want to “continue to give him confidence and block out a lot of the outside noise.” It is now up to Bairstow to repay his trust.

Team news: England bring in Robinson and Bashir

The only question for India is who will replace Bumrah. With three spinners already in the XI, they will likely go for either Mukesh Kumar or uncapped Akash Deep. Mukesh should be the favorite even though he missed Thursday's optional practice session, where Akash did a lot of batting and fielding.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (captain), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Sarfaraz Khan, 6 Dhruv Jurel (week), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mukesh Kumar/Akash Deep

England made two changes. Ollie Robinson replaces Mark Wood and will play his first Test in India, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was preferred to Rehan Ahmed for his high release point.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (captain), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Location and conditions: Rain in the air

The land of Ranchi looks much more effects-friendly than any of the previous ones in the series. Stokes described it as “very dark and crumbly”. Ollie Pope noted that one half – if you cut it vertically – had many more cracks than the other. Other lawns were mowed Thursday. Weather-wise, showers are expected on the third and fifth days of the Test.

Statistics and anecdotes: Anderson at the dawn of the 700

• James Anderson is just four away from 700 Test wickets. Only Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708) have taken more.

• Stokes is three short of 200 Test wickets. When he gets there, he will be only the third all-rounder after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis to achieve the double of 6,000 runs and 200 wickets.

• Bairstow is at 94 from 6,000 Tests and Rohit Sharma is at 23 from 4,000.

• Ravindra Jadeja, who took 3,000 Test runs in the previous match, is also closing in on 300 Test wickets. He needs 13 more to become the seventh Indian to do so.

Quotes

“We had a lot of conversations with him [Rajat Patidar]. One thing he has to understand is that this is the way this game is played. He hit very well, he scored a lot of runs to get into the team and he doesn't become a bad player after two matches. He had a few tough games, some clumsy expulsions where the ball stopped on him, which can happen, that's how this game is going. But I have absolutely no doubt that he is a good player and that in his time he will have some very memorable innings.”
Batting coach of India Vikram Rathour supports Patidar

“There will be help for spinners, but also sewing [bowlers] due to drought and cracks in the wicket. The way Jimmy [Anderson] and Robbo [Robinson] operate, zone an area consistently, Robbo's exit point, I think we give ourselves a good chance if it turns; we also have the option to take wickets with the fast bowlers if there is variable bounce.
Captain of England Ben Stokes in the field