Stokes was only thinking of Bangladesh before final delivery

"I've never seen something like that before. I don't know what could happen," England captain Ben Stokes told the British media after seeing the pitch for their fourth Test against India at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, which begins today. 

England head into the match trailing the series 2-1, having lost the second and third Test following their 28-run win in the opener in Hyderabad.

The hosts hammered the visitors in the third Test in particular, winning by 434 runs – their biggest ever win in Tests in terms of runs.

A victory will seal India's 17th straight series win in home Tests, being undefeated since losing a series to England in 2012.

The surface for the fourth Test appears to be perfect for India's lethal spin attack as it has deep cracks down one side but looks flat on the other, something that perplexed Stokes.

"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," Stokes said.

The Indian camp, on the other hand, said that they expect a 'typical Indian wicket' and are primed for whatever the pitch has in store.

"It's a typical Indian wicket, there are cracks, this wicket always had cracks," batting coach Vikram Rathour said.

"It will turn, but how much it will turn and from when we are not sure. We have enough balance in our team to go whichever way we want to go."

Indian batting line-up has been short of experience with Virat Kohli opting out of the series for the birth of his second child while KL Rahul has been out of the squad since the first Test owing to a thigh injury.

But young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit double-hundreds in the second and third Test, and debutant Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored half-centuries in both innings of the third Test, have stepped up to fill the vacuum.

"We are missing some key players but a home series is always a good opportunity for the young talents to play in familiar conditions and establish themselves in the side," said Rathour.

England announced their XI yesterday, replacing pacer Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed for Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir respectively.

England XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley.

Test captain Ben Stokes has ruled himself out of England's T20 World Cup title defence, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Tuesday.

The 32-year-old said he was skipping the tournament in the United States and the West Indies to make sure he could be a fully-fledged all-rounder in Test cricket.

"Opting out of the IPL (Indian Premier League) and the (T20) World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future," Stokes said in an ECB statement.

Stokes's withdrawal was something of a surprise given that, when asked last month if he would participate in the T20 World Cup in June, he said he had "not even thought about that but I'm available".

It is understood Stokes has not suffered any setbacks after briefly returning to bowling last month during a Test tour of India where England lost a five-match series 4-1.

There is no lingering discomfort in his left knee following surgery in November.

But although he has long been one of England's leading multi-format cricketers, Stokes has decided to prioritise his role as Test captain, in the hope of being able to play a full role with both bat and ball during six Tests -- three against the West Indies and three against Sri Lanka -- in the upcoming home season.

The first Test against the West Indies at Lord's starts on July 10, less than two weeks after the June 29 T20 World Cup final in Barbados.

'Behind in bowling'

That congested Test schedule has prompted Stokes to follow up his withdrawal from the lucrative IPL T20 franchise tournament by also pulling out of the T20 World Cup in a major blow for England white-ball captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott.

"I'm working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an all-rounder in all formats of cricket," Stokes said.

He added: "The recent Test tour of India highlighted how far behind I was from a bowling point of view after my knee surgery and nine months without bowling. I'm looking forward to playing for Durham in the County Championship before the start of our Test summer.

"I wish Jos, Motty and all the team the best of luck in defending our title."

England begin that title defence against Scotland in Barbados on June 4, before further group matches against Australia, Oman and Namibia.

Stokes was a central figure as England won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

The left-handed batsman's 42 against Sri Lanka in Sydney took England into the knockout rounds, while his unbeaten 52 -- his first fifty in international T20 cricket -- secured victory over Pakistan in the final in Melbourne.

That match was the last of his 43 T20 international appearances, but had Stokes been available he would undoubtedly have been included in England's 15-man World Cup squad.

Stokes delayed an operation on a longstanding left knee problem to play in last year's 50-over World Cup in India, where reigning champions England suffered an embarrassing exit before the knockout stages after winning just three of their nine group games.

After undergoing surgery at the end of last year, Stokes was an ever-present in England's 4-1 defeat in India although he sent down only five overs -- all of them in the last Test, where the paceman bowled India captain Rohit Sharma with his first competitive delivery in some nine months.

After the two Test series at home to the West Indies and Sri Lanka, England will tour Pakistan and New Zealand.

England then have a 2025 featuring two showpiece series, with five Tests at home to India followed by an Ashes tour of Australia.

Captain Ben Stokes admitted that Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were too good for his England team after the spin duo propelled Pakistan to a series victory on Saturday.

The hosts sealed a nine-wicket win in the third Test in Rawalpindi with Noman taking 6-42 and Sajid 4-69 in the second innings as England were bowled out for just 112.

The irrepressible pair shared 39 wickets in the last two Tests to spur Pakistan's revival from an innings defeat in the first match.

"You've got to hold your hands up to say that those two in particular were obviously too good for our batting line-up in those last two games," Stokes said.

Noman and Sajid both came into the side following Pakistan's heavy defeat in the first Test in Multan, their inclusion proving pivotal in the hosts' 2-1 series triumph.

"Credit to Noman and Sajid, the way in which they bowled in the second Test match and in this game, you know it was very good and challenging," said Stokes.

Stokes said the series defeat was all the more disappointing with England having whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 away two years ago.

"Losing games for England hurts so it's disappointing," said Stokes, who missed the first Test in Multan with injury and failed to find form with the bat on his return.

The talismanic Stokes has been central to England's attacking philosophy, which saw records tumble in the victory in the first Multan Test.

But he said consistency had been an issue since.

"We need to do things for longer," said Stokes, whose team next tours New Zealand for a three-Test series in late November.

"As I said, we did good things in very small amounts of times at certain points throughout the second game and this game.

"But when you don't sustain that, you know you're always going to start falling away."

England captain Ben Stokes is "on track" to feature in the Test series in Pakistan after undergoing scans on his hamstring injury on Wednesday.

Stokes was sidelined for England's recent Test series against Sri Lanka due to the hamstring tear he suffered playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on August 11.

Ollie Pope stood in as Test captain as England won the Sri Lanka series 2-1.

But Stokes is likely to resume his role as skipper against Pakistan after the 33-year-old all-rounder's positive scan results.

England fly out to Pakistan next week for a three-match Test tour that gets under way in Multan on October 7.

"England Men's Test captain Ben Stokes today underwent planned scans on the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Test series against Sri Lanka," the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday.

"The results of the scans were positive and confirmed that his recovery, since sustaining the injury six-and-a-half weeks ago, remains on track to participate in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan."

Even if he is ready to lead England in Pakistan, there will be doubts about Stokes' ability to bowl in the early part of the tour.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, Stokes was asked if he was likely to be able to bowl in the first Test and said: "I think that's you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously I've been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym.

"There's a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling."

England captain Ben Stokes believes the series-deciding third Test against Pakistan starting Thursday will boil down to a spin battle on a Rawalpindi pitch likely to favour slow bowlers.

England piled up 823-7 to thrash Pakistan by an innings on a lifeless Multan pitch in the first Test, before the hosts bounced back with a 152-run win on a recycled and turning Multan track.

For the deciding match, Pakistan have kept the same combination of three frontline spinners in Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood, with just one fast bowler in Aamer Jamal.

Pakistan have used industrial fans and heaters to dry the Rawalpindi pitch, hoping to replicate their spin-led success in Multan which ended a drought of home wins stretching back to 2021.

Stokes said his three spinners in Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir and the recalled Rehan Ahmed were equal to the challenge.

"I'll be backing the three spinners that we've picked," Stokes told reporters after a training session on the eve of the third and final Test.

"We don't know exactly how the wicket will play, but we've taken as much information from it as we can.

"We think the longer the game goes, the more spin will come into play."

Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, also expects the near-bald pitch "to favour the slower bowlers".

The toss could be crucial, with both teams looking to bat first and maximise the impact of their spinners on a deteriorating pitch.

Pakistan have performed poorly in all formats in the past year, losing 2-0 in a home Test series to Bangladesh and crashing out of the ODI and Twenty20 World Cups in the first rounds.

A series victory over England would mark a stark change in fortunes.

"Over the last few years Pakistan's Test cricket hasn't been where we'd like it to be, so any win is a positive," he said.