"Looks a shocker" - Michael Vaughan on Ranchi surface as England lose 5 wickets in 1st session of IND vs ENG 4th Test

With England losing five wickets inside the first session of the fourth Test against India in Ranchi, Michael Vaughan has hit out at the surface. While the former captian believes it's unwise to judge a surface until both teams have batted, he termed it as a 'shocker' nonetheless.

England, after choosing to bat first on winning the toss, found the surface assist seam appreciably as the ball hopped around. Debutant Akash Deep was denied a wicket in the fourth over, sending Zak Crawley's stumps cartwheeling but had had overstepped. However, the right-arm seamer hit gold in his next over, sending back the other opener Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope.

Crawley was eventually sent back by Akash Deep for his third wicket, while Ravichandran Ashwin ended Jonny Bairstow's counterttacking innings. The session finished with Ravindra Jadeja trapping visiting captain Ben Stokes lbw with one that kept quite low, leaving England at 112-5.

Vaughan tweeted about the surface:

"The old saying .. Do not judge a pitch till both teams have batted and bowled on it .. but let’s be honest .. this one looks a shocker."

The hosts made only one change from the previous Test in Rajkot, resting Jasprit Bumrah and handing a debut to Akash Deep.

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England make 2 changes in must-win Test

Ben Stokes

The tourists have made a couple of changes to their lineup. Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed were left out, with Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir drafted in. Before the Ranchi Test, it also emerged that Rehan Ahmed will fly home due to an urgent matter.

Ben Stokes and Co. won the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs but lost the next two comprehensively. Hence, they must win in Ranchi or avoid defeat to keep the series alive. The tourists are 165-5 after 46 overs, with Joe Root (47) and Ben Foakes (14) at the crease.