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Michael Atherton said Ranchi’s test pitch went much better after the lunch session.©AFP
Joe Root smashed an unbeaten century to help England score 353 in the first innings of their fourth Test against India in Ranchi. Root, who had come under severe criticism in the third Test, led the charge with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 122 after the visitors opted to bat. England were reeling at 112/5 at one point before Root led the comeback on Day 1, forming crucial partnerships with Jonny Bairstow (38), Ben Foakes (47) and Ollie Robinson (58). Former England captain Michael Atherton spoke about how the visitors should approach the match on Day 2.
The former was also involved in the much talked about Ranchi launch. He suggested that the track sounded much better after the lunch session.
“He played better than he looked. It was a lot harder in the morning when the ball was new after lunch. When the ball got a little bigger, it really flattened out. And the danger was the ball staying low. Ben Stokes got one one of those at lunch time. But in general, when the ball grew after lunch, it flattened out. It was quite difficult to score because the bounce was low, but it was not that threatening. So I think the new ball is very important “Atherton said. sky sports.
Atherton also urged England’s bowlers to make good use of the new ball in the morning session on Day 2.
“The new ball will come to India tomorrow morning and then when England try it. Anderson and Robinson, the new ball will be very important to make 2 or 3 breakthroughs. Try to get 2 or 3 wickets to achieve that. “This will be a bit easier for spinners later. But launches are curious things. Sometimes they can play a little better than they look and this is probably one of those. So the early stages of Day 2 will be absolutely crucial in then dictating what follows. .350 is a pretty good first inning score on this pitch,” he added.
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