India vs England | Both teams up for the turf challenge in Ranchi

Ben Stokes and Vikram Rathour discuss the pitch conditions ahead of the Test match in Ranchi.

 Heard first, Ben Stokes’ statement on Wednesday that he had “never seen” a pitch like the one at the JSCA Stadium here is sure to convey a sense of shock and dread.

But going by his demeanour in Thursday’s pre-match briefing it was reflective more of the confusion regarding how the turf will play.

“There is a bit more grass taken off from yesterday [Wednesday],” Stokes said. “You do expect the wicket to look different on the day before [the Test] than two days out. But our overall thinking and understanding is that it hasn’t changed much from yesterday.”

On Wednesday, Ollie Pope had described the 22 yards as “platey” with a lot of cracks. Late afternoon on Thursday, the curator bounced the ball outside the right-hander’s off-stump a few times at the Amitabh Chaudhary Pavilion End and then had the roller go over that area.

“We won’t go with many preconceived ideas,” Stokes insisted. “The pitch could be flat as a pancake. Who knows. If it is that, we will adapt. If it does more than what we think, we will adapt to that as well.”

To cover all bases, England has brought in off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for leggie Rehan Ahmed, and speedster Ollie Robinson instead of Mark Wood to join forces with Jimmy Anderson.

“Bashir releases the ball from such a height, the extra bounce he gets, we feel it is going to bring us more into the game,” Stokes said. “Spin is going to be assisted. But I also feel that having two seamers, we have a good chance. Purely because of Robinson’s release height and the relentlessness with [which he bowls in] his areas.”