TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow Us“You have to travel at such speeds that you’re going to come off the road occasionally,” Brendon McCullum mentioned about T20 cricket in the book Cricket 2.0.
Bazball in Test cricket, even though a completely different format, works on the same principle.
And this series has encapsulated both sides of England’s attacking style of play. The visitors clinched a victory for ages in Hyderabad to gain a 1-0 lead. Since then, they have found themselves in strong positions only to concede the advantage to India. The mindset that has placed them ahead has also caused their undoing. You live by the sword and you die by it.
In their 20 months of Bazballing, England have been tasked to win back-to-back Tests only twice before. They were 0-2 down in the Ashes last year when Ben Stokes, the England skipper suggested his side can still win 3-2. In a splendid effort, they drew the series 2-2. The Three Lions are in a similar situation now and Stokes has again said they can win 3-2.
India, although beasts at home, registered “satisfying victories” in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot. They have played on truer wickets instead of dishing out rank turners. They were challenged in all three Tests but conquered the hurdles with an inexperienced squad. In Rajkot, the overall experience of India’s XI (325 Tests) was less than half of England’s (674 Tests). In this Test, India will take the field without Jasprit Bumrah who has been the difference between the two bowling attacks.
That poses England their best chance to make a comeback in the series. Ranchi is their last chance to keep Bazball’s unbeaten record spotless.
Things to watch out for
The Bumrah shaped void
Jasprit Bumrah has been the MVP of this series thus far. With 17 wickets at 13.6 runs apiece, Bumrah has been Rohit Sharma’s go-to option whenever India have wanted to pull things back. The seamer has responded with wickets at crucial junctures and of vital batters in the oppositions.
India can replace him with another seamer in Mukesh Kumar or Akash Deep in line for a debut, or add another spinner. However, no other bowler (on both sides) has the skillset of reverse swing as proficient as that of Bumrah to cut the deal on these slow turners.
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Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj has been wicketless in eight of the last nine innings he has bowled in India. Underused generally, he struck form in the first innings in Rajkot where his four-wicket haul rolled over England. India would hope Siraj has cracked the code in India to lead the pace bowling duties in Ranchi.
Last chance for Patidar?
Rajat Patidar debuted in the series on the back of strong performances in domestic cricket. He averaged 65.6 in first-class cricket between 2022 and 2023.
None of that has transpired in the ongoing series. In four innings, Patidar has scores of 32, 9, 5 & 0. Known to be a good player of spin bowling, the right-hander has suffered soft dismissals against spin in all four innings.
Things change at the snap of a finger in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz Khan, who debuted in Visakhapatnam, has already leapfrogged Patidar with twin fifties in Rajkot. The current management’s tendency to give a long rope to players should hand Patidar another opportunity with KL Rahul ruled out of the fourth Test. But it could well be his last. Even if Rahul remains unavailable for the final Test, there is Devdutt Padikkal waiting in the wings.
Three failures in a row could result in Padikkal leapfrogging Patidar as Sarfaraz did. And knowing India next play Test cricket in the last quarter of the year, Ranchi seems like a do-or-die Test for the 30-year-old.
Eyes on Root and Bairstow
Joe Root (77 runs in six innings) and Jonny Bairstow’s (102 runs in six innings) poor form has been a pivotal reason behind England’s slump in the series. The visitors have averaged 48.3 runs per wicket for their first two wickets. With Root and Bairstow not scoring runs at number four and five, the average drops to 20.6 for wicket number three, four and five combined.
The management has backed Bairstow to come good. However, his low returns can prompt Stokes to bat at number five.
Most of the times when Stokes has walked out to bat, England have just lost quick wickets. It has curbed Stokes to bat defensively. This series, he has a strike rate of 38.5 during the first 30 balls of his innings, much lower than his career's first 30-ball strike rate of 52.6.
Also, Stokes at five will bring a left-hander in the middle order amidst a series of right-handed batters. Hence, the skipper at five instead of six could be a good tactical adjustment for the Three Lions.
Ground Details and Conditions
In the two Tests played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, the venue has gained the reputation of a slow turning wicket. With little help from the wicket for the seamers, spinners have bowled 60.3% of the total overs bowled here and have snapped 54.95 of the wickets.
However, as a slow turner, the wicket has posed challenges for the spinners as well. The spinners in Ranchi have a strike rate of 86.3 balls/wicket, the third worst for an Indian venue in Tests since 2017, the year Ranchi became a Test venue. In this series, the spinners have picked 58.9 balls/wicket and the Indian spinners 45.4.
Given the first three Tests were also played on pitches with slow turn that led to slow burn Test matches, we can expect another similar contest here.
Tactical Insights
> On Day 2 of the Rajkot Test, Duckett took Kuldeep Yadav under the sword of his sweep strokes, scoring 29 off 16 balls against the wrist spinner. Kuldeep came back on Day 3 by keeping the ball away from Duckett’s radar and picking his wicket, conceding only 11 runs from 17 balls. A similar ploy can be on the cards in the fourth Test.
> Bumrah has accounted for three of Root’s six dismissals in the series. In his absence, India can target Root with Ravindra Jadeja. Root has the lowest false shot percentage against Jadeja among all Indian bowlers this series (9.7%) but has scored only 10 runs against the orthodox spinner for two wickets.
Playing XIs
India
India have plenty of options to replace Bumrah but none as conclusive. A fourth spinner can be the least prioritized option given Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep have all done their job. Mukesh Kumar’s uninspiring returns in Vizag puts Akash Deep in all likelihood of a Test debut.
Rohit Sharma ( c ), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep
England (announced)
England have announced their XI. The batting line-up is the same. England have cut down on pace, replacing Mark Wood with Ollie Robinson. The off-spinner Shoaib Bashir will come in for the wrist-spinner Rehan Ahmed.
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes ( c ), Ben Foakes (wk), Ollie Robinson, Tom Hartley, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir
