LONDON: England captain Ben Stokes shared his thoughts after his side’s narrow victory over India in the third Test of a five-match series here at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Monday.
England secured a narrow 22-run victory over India to go 2-1 up in the series as visitors failed to chase a 193-run target despite valiant contributions from the lower order.
Ben Stokes, who was also named as the Player of the Match for his all-round contributions, hailed off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. The right-arm spinner took the last wicket with a broken finger to seal a memorable win for the home team.
“I’ve taken myself to some pretty dark places, but if bowling your country to a Test match win doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what does. Bashir, it was written in the stars to take that last wicket. An absolute warrior,” he remarked.
The English captain expected something special from Jofra Archer, who made his return to the red ball side after four years.
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“Yeah, part of the reason I went with Jof [Jofra Archer] this morning, six years ago now to the day. He played a major role, and I had a feeling he’d do something special and crack the game open.
“A bit of discussion, Brydon had an amazing spell, but I had a gut feeling that Jof’s going to do something in his first game back. Every time he’s announced on the tannoy, the ground erupts, and when the speeds go up on the screen, the feeling changes,” he added.
Stokes, who underwent hamstring surgery in 2024 during New Zealand’s tour, revealed what it took to put his body on the line during the Test match.
“With what was on the line… I was cooked yesterday, but the game was on the line, nothing was stopping me. I’m an allrounder, I get four opportunities to influence the game, and if one thing doesn’t click… I’d like to score more runs, but you don’t have a chance to worry about anything,” he concluded.
READ: Archer, Stokes shine as England edge India in Lord’s thriller