Watch: England skipper Ben Stokes was a victim of low bounce as he was trapped plumb in front by Ravindra Jadeja on the first morning of the fourth India vs England Test in Ranchi.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
Choosing to bat first on a helpful wicket for the seamers, England were rocked early by the debutant Akash Deep. The right-arm seamer first cleaned up Zak Crawley in his second over on what eventually turned out to be a no-ball. However, he didn’t let that dampen his spirits as the Bengal seamer picked up three wickets in his first spell to reduce England to 57-3.
R Ashwin then removed Jonny Bairstow 15 minutes before Lunch, bringing Stokes to the crease with the team score reading 109-4. Before he could even get his eye in, Stokes was undone by the Ranchi surface.
Ravindra Jadeja, bowling what would have been the last over before lunch on day, got a length ball to keep low from around the wicket, pinning the England captain extremely low on the back foot right in front of the stumps.
Stokes didn’t even wait for the umpire to raise his finger, nor did he bother reviewing as he walked off immediately, knowing he was struck plumb in front of the wicket. Lasting all of six balls, Stokes’ innings produced just three runs.
The players walked off for lunch following Stokes’ wicket. After an eventful first session, England’s score read 112-5. The wicket also led to severe reactions about the quality of the pitch, given the ball nearly rolled along the ground on the first morning of the Test match.
Dinesh Karthik, who was on air during the dismissal, said, “These are not good signs,” referring to the low bounce early in the game.
