India v England, fourth Test, day one – Ben Stokes’ side set out to level series in Ranchi

Duckett hasn’t seen much of the striker in these early stages, but he gets to face the entirety of an over from Akash Deep, picking up a well-run two as he calms things down.

The Barmy Army trumpet rings out, and England are on the charge!

Crawley gets on strike and survives one that nips back in and loops up to where a short leg would have been. And he responds to that by going full attack.

An off drive for four is followed by a classy clip through mid on for four more. And a hat-trick of fours comes up with a stylish flick away to square leg.

Crawley then has Siraj turning his head with a snap as he stands tall and monsters a huge six away over long-on.

That’s 19 runs off the over.

Another good over from Akash Deep ends with a thick outside edge from Crawley that flies wide of the cordon and away for four runs.

More threat for Crawley as Siraj gets one to whip back in to the pads, but it was high and there’s no review.

A first boundary of the day for England and it comes from Crawley, who spots one that’s pitched up slightly further and drives it through the off side for four.

But the ball continues to jump around all over the place. Will this sort of movement continue? What constitutes a good score? And what on earth will the spinners get to happen on this interesting surface?

Oh wow! Akash Deep thinks he’s got his first wicket in Test cricket with an absolute gem that nips back in off the wicket and cleans up Crawley’s stumps. He’s in the midst of his celebrations when the umpire tells the batter to stop walking, and the dreaded no-ball siren goes off moments later to offer Crawley a reprieve.

Replays showed that he did overstep, looking for a touch more effort, and it’s the right call. Heartbreak for Akash Deep and a big let-off for England.

Four runs come from the over in total, with three singles along with that new ball, and it’s a crackerjack of an over from the new bowler, with the ball seaming all over the place off this pitch.

It could just be that the new ball is talking and it’ll flatten out, but England will be delighted by their decision to pick the tall and controlled Ollie Robinson for this match. Based on the early evidence he should be exactly the sort of bowler who can extract something from this surface.

But for now the challenge for England is to make it through this new ball test against India’s pace duo.

There’s a bit more news from the England camp, with Rehan Ahmed heading home for personal reasons for the remainder of the tour. He will not be replaced in the travelling party.

Hopefully it’s nothing too serious for young Rehan, who bowled with plenty of promise in the first three Tests.

He wasn’t set to be involved in this game as England turned to the extra height of Shoaib Bashir in their spin attack, and with the last test being held in Dharamsala where three quicks are expected in the team then it shouldn’t make a huge impact on England’s cricketing plans from here on in.

Back to this game and Siraj continues, bowling really nicely. England have made a watchful start and three more runs come from the over, all in singles.

India have opted to hand another debut in this series in the absence of Bumrah, and it’s Akash Deep who gets it, coming in as the second seamer. He’s not express pace, but he’s a right-armer who sends them down at a decent enough lick, and he shows off those skills with a tidy first over.

High spirits from India as Jurel is given plenty of love for preventing leg side byes from one that hoops away.

But England do get their first runs with two nudged singles in an over that shows more inconsistent bounce. There’s been a lot of chat about this wicket before the match, but early signs are that picking two pace options was the right approach from both teams.

It’s Siraj with the first ball of the Test, with India having rested Bumrah for this match of course.

His first over is a box of tricks on a surface that looks like it’ll offer a bit for the quicks early on, with a relatively lush outfield and some flecks of green on the surface of the wicket, particularly on one half of a two-faced sort of strip.

He gets a beauty to beat Crawley’s outside edge and then strikes the big England opener with a bouncer that shows off the surface’s expected uneven bounce. It’s a maiden to kick things off.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson

India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

England have won the toss and have chosen to bat.

For the first time since that opening Test, the toss has gone Ben Stokes’ way and he has unsurprisingly chosen to bat first. That is just what you do in Indian conditions, almost all of the time.

It doesn’t mean that England are favourites for this match of course, but it’s an excellent start. Decent first innings runs would give them the platform to control the Test on a pitch that looks like it’ll turn big, maybe from the start, definitely in the back-half of the match.

Good morning. Feeling fresh?

The prospect of a fascinating fourth Test in Ranchi had me leaping out of bed a little while ago, and it’s great to have you here with me.

It’s been a fascinating series so far and promises to be another belter of a match, and the first ball is only 15 minutes away.

I’m Tom Bennett and I’ll bring you over-by-over updates throughout the day, and you can follow the whole Test right here on TNT Sports, with the series broadcast in full on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Ben Stokes said he has “never seen something like that before” when giving his assessment of the pitch to be used in England’s crucial fourth Test with India in Ranchi.

England trail 2-1 in the series and will have to adapt to the conditions if they are to prevail and force a decider.

Speaking ahead of the fourth Test, Stokes said: “I’ve never seen something like that before. I don’t know what could happen.

“If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India.”

He added: “It looked green and grassy up in the changing rooms, but then you go out there it looked different – very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it.”

The unpredictable surface could make it difficult for batters, which might play into the .visitors’ hands following their 434-run defeat in Rajkot last week.

England have made two changes to their side for the fourth Test.

Into the attack come fast bowler Ollie Robinson and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, with Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed missing out.

It will be a first game of the series for 30-year-old Robinson, who last featured for England in last summer’s five-Test clash with Australia.

Bashir, meanwhile, took four wickets on his debut in the second Test against India in Vizag and joins fellow spinner Tom Hartley as England look to bounce back from a disappointing showing in Rajkot.

Elsewhere, Jonny Bairstow keeps his place despite coming under scrutiny for his poor batting form. The 34-year-old has averaged just 17 runs in six innings, with a top score of 37.

The visitors trail 2-1 after back-to-back defeats. England won the first Test before India levelled the contest in Vizag before thrashing the tourists by 434 runs in Rajkot last week.

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