"England already crying for the pitch"- Top 10 funny memes ahead of 4th Test between India and England in Ranchi
Team India and England are all set to clash in the fourth Test, which commences on Friday (February 23) at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. The hosts lead the five-match series by 2-1.
England won the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. India then beat the visiting side comfortably by 106 runs in Vizag to level things. In the third Test in Rajkot, Rohit Sharma-led side registered a record 434-run victory to take a lead in the series.
England have already announced their playing XI for the upcoming match. They made two changes to their side, replacing Rehan Ahmed and Mark Wood with Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robinson.
India will continue to miss the services of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the batting department. The hosts will also be without their ace pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested for this Test as part of his workload management.
Fans have been waiting enthusiastically for the fourth Test between India and England. They expressed their anticipation by sharing intriguing memes on social media platforms.
Here is a collection of the best memes:
"Very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it"- England captain Ben Stokes about Ranchi pitch ahead of 4th Test vs India
Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the fourth Test, England skipper Ben Stokes opened up that he has never seen a pitch like in Ranchi. He revealed that the playing surface in the venue had a lot of cracks and looked different from the dressing room and from proximity. Stokes said:
"I've never seen something like that before. I have got no idea so 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. 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."
On overcoming the heavy loss in the previous Test, Stokes added:
"It's sport. You get plaudits when it goes well and not when it doesn't. It's part of it, I've been around long enough to know that, but we crack on. Defeats like last week can have a bigger effect on the team that it needs to be. But I'm comfortable with how I addressed that. I know it's the next game that counts."
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