“Curious things”: England dominate debate on Ranchi pitch after Joe Root’s century. cricket news

Thanks to Joe Root’s unbeaten century, England scored 353 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test match against India in Ranchi. Root, who was severely criticized in the third Test, led the batting with an unbeaten 122 after the visitors decided to bat. England were in trouble at 112/5 at one point, before Root led the recovery on the first day, forming crucial partnerships with Jonny Bairstow (38), Ben Foakes (47) and Ollie Robinson (58). Former England captain Michael Atherton explained how spectators should watch the second day’s play.

The former player also laid emphasis on the much talked about Ranchi pitch. He suggested that the track ran much better after the lunch session.

“Played better than it looked. It was quite difficult in the morning after lunch when the ball was new. When the ball got a bit older, it got really flat. And the danger was the ball staying low. Ben Stokes got one of those at lunch. But usually, after lunch, when the ball gets old, it gets flat. It was quite difficult to score because of the low bounce, but it was not that dangerous. So I think the new ball is very important, Atherton said. sky game,

Atherton also urged the England bowlers to make good use of the new ball in the morning session on day two.

“India will get the new ball tomorrow morning and then when England get its challenge. Anderson and Robinson, the new ball will be very important to attack 2 or 3 times. Try and get 2 or 3 wickets to make it.” It will become a little easier for the spinners later. But pitches are strange things. They can sometimes play a little better than they look and this is probably one of them. So the early stages of Day 2 will be absolutely crucial, then what happens next will decide .350 is a very good first innings score on this pitch,” he said.