Defending 192 runs in the 4th Test in Ranchi England got to the worst possible start on the evening of Day 3 when the visitors gave away 40 runs in no time without threatening to pick a wicket on a pitch that was aiding the spinners and had invariable bounce.
Skipper Ben Stokes opted to open with Joe Root and Tom Hartley who struggled with their accuracy and gifted full-tosses and half-volleys to Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
‘I like Stokes’s captaincy but I thought he made a big error by opening the bowling with two spinners, Root and Tom Hartley.’ Geoffrey Boycott would write in his column for The Telegraph. ‘Stokes was thinking that a harder new ball would bounce more and a raised seam would create more spin.’
‘The problem is that unless you are experienced at bowling spin with a new ball then the lacquer makes it slip out of the fingers so it is difficult to drop it on a length. When I played, spinners could rub the ball in the dirt to rough it up and grip it better but that is banned now so it is hard for them to control. I think Stokes out-thought himself,’ he added.