Sunil Gavaskar responds to Ranchi Pitch critics: ‘Oh my God, all hell breaks loose’ | Top Vip News

Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at criticism of the JSCA International Stadium Complex pitch in Ranchi, where India and England are currently playing the fourth Test match of the ongoing five-match series. The Ranchi pitch offered genuine lateral movement and came out firing on Indian seamers Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep in the first hour of the opening day of the match. Akash went on to pick three wickets in a dazzling seven-over new-ball spell, thanks to the nature of the pitch. As the game progressed, some balls stayed low with some variable bounce as well. The spinners, especially, have been able to spin the ball much more in this Test compared to the previous three matches, with wickets falling in quick succession more often than not. Gavaskar defended the pitch and cited examples of how India has had to play on challenging pitches abroad.

IND vs ENG, 4th day of test 4 – LIVE

“I have seen cracks on the courts in Perth and Brisbane. When the ball hits the crack in Perth, it goes very brutally over your head. But then nothing happens. You have to play that. You have to show your courage and guts. But when it happens in India, oh my God, all hell breaks loose,” he said on-air on JioCinema after James Anderson dismissed Kuldeep Yadav on Day 3 with a low ball.

On Day 1, former England captain Michael Vaughan criticized the pitch in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, after the visitors were left reeling at 112-5 at lunch.

“The old saying. “Don’t judge a pitch until both teams have batted and pitched on it, but let’s be honest, this one looks like a surprise,” Michael Vaughan posted.

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The match was well set up at the end of Day 3, with India coming back from 40-0 down in a run chase that required 192 runs. On Day 1, Joe Root scored a century to get England out of a difficult situation and help them score 353 in the first innings.

In reply, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav put up an inspiring 76-run stand for the eighth wicket. Horse mackerel scored 90.

In the second innings, England could only manage a paltry 145 on the board as Ravichandran Ashwin (five wickets) and Kuldeep Yadav (four wickets) annihilated the visitors’ batting line-up.