England tour of India

IND vs. ENG, 4th Test

Preview

After taking a 2-1 lead over the Visitors, Host team India is all set to face England in the 4th test of the five-match test series. This match is scheduled to take place in Ranchi, India on 23-27 February 2024. Rohit Sharma-led team India won the Rajkot match with a mammoth 442 runs while setting the target of 556 runs in front of Ben Stokes-led England. It has been one of the most entertaining and watchable Test series between India and England in a long time and we believe the fun and thrill to continue in this match as well.

Team India won the match from the situation when they were around 33/3 in the first innings of the match but thanks to the berserk innings of captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who stitched a partnership of 204 runs for the Hosts which took away the match from Vistors hands. Both batters smashed their respective hundreds and took India to a huge total of 445 runs in the first innings. For England, Ben Duckett's blistering knock of 153 off 151 balls went in vain as he was not supported by any other English batter and as a result, the three lions surrendered their innings on 319 runs.

Boosted with confidence in the second innings team India started their innings with a massive lead of 126 runs however skipper Rohit Sharma became the early victim of Joe Root but soon after that, it was Jaiswal and Gill's show. Both the flamboyant batters did not give even a single chance to England to make any comeback in the game, the left-handed sublime batter Jaiswal hammered his second double ton of the series while the right-handed batter Gill missed his well-made hundred by nine runs. An hour before the tea break on Day 4 of the third test, The Hosts decided to declare their innings on the score of 430/4, setting a mountainous target of 557 runs. It did not much time for the Hosts to bundle up the Visitors' mere 122 runs and win the match by 442 runs, registering their biggest victory in test history by runs.

Rohit Sharma-led team India in the Test at a canter but with the likes of Kohli, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah all not in action for the fourth Test, their replacement players must step up to the plate! However, after the debutants, Sarfaraz Khan(62, 68*) and Dhurv Jurel(46) produced some exceptional batting in the third test, the selection committee will be expecting them to craft those skills in the fourth test as well. The spearheaded pacer Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in the series and the 30-year-old seamer's absence is likely to be welcomed by English players! But we know that the hosts have just as much depth in their bowling attack as in the batting lineup. Can the Visitors turn around the momentum though? After two consecutive losses they are in trouble but the lack of Bumrah could be just what England needs to level the series.

Ben Stokes, England skipper, consistently generates opportunities for the bowlers, thereby giving them more chances to excel and contribute in the 4th match. Team India's skipper Rohit Sharma's side will now look to build on their heavy win in the fourth test but they will miss the experienced players in the lineup. It is going to be a good contest between bat and ball as India will be looking to make it 3-1 and seal the series however, England will be eyeing to make it 2-2 and play the series decider in Dharmasala.

Match Details

Match: ENG tour of IND 2024, IND vs ENG, 4th Test

Date: Friday, February 23, 2024 - Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Time: 09:30 AM

Venue: JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi, India

Pitch and Weather Report

The pitch is going to be a typical Indian test pitch, there are large cracks outside the off-stump of the right-handers and this could mean a quick and low-scoring game for the fourth test. The team winning the toss will be looking to bat first and put as many as they can on the scoreboard to put a minimum of 370-390 on the card.

There was no sign of rain in the three test matches, however, it is going to be warm and a bit cloudy on the initial three days of the play in Ranchi, but it is likely to be around 23 degrees Celsius during the match day. There is no rain predicted during all five days of play.

IND vs. ENG Squads

IND: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Devdutt Padikkal(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Axar Patel, Srikar Bharat, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep

ENG: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir

IND vs. ENG Probable Playing XIs

IND: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj 

ENG: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Robinson

Match Prediction

It is going to be a cracker of a game as India won't be taking England lightly they know Ben Stokes-led ENG will fight hard to make their comeback in the series. However, we believe with home advantage the host team India is going to be the favourite for this match and secure the series by 3-1.

Team 1

Team 2