England captain Ben Stokes’ marathon spells of 9.2 and 10 overs in the final day of the Lord’s Test on Monday played a pivotal part in keeping the hosts’ relentless pressure on India which ultimately resulted in a 22-run win, giving them a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Taking the example of the England skipper, former India player Irfan Pathan said that India should have done better while using the talents of Jasprit Bumrah.
“Ben Stokes bowled a marathon 9.2 over spell in the morning on day five. What a player he is. He bowls, bats and executes a crucial run out of Rishabh Pant but there is no talk of workload management. But with India it is not like that. Bumrah bowls five overs and waits for Joe Root to come out to bat when you need to control the game (in the second innings). It was disappointing,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
“His workload was managed having not played at Edgbaston. When you play a match, there is no workload. You have to win at all costs. The Indian camp could have done that better,” he added.
Pathan also lauded another injury-prone player Jofra Archer who also supported Stokes throughout the match with his fiery spells. Archer had come into this match, having not represented England for 4 years in red ball cricket due to injury problems.
“Archer was playing a Test match after four years but he did not stop. He bowled a six-over spell in the morning before returning to bowl again. Ben Stokes did not think about workload at all, if he can bowl nine overs, hum toh peeche rah gaye (Indian pacers were left behind),” he said.
Stokes’ exhaustion after that epic effort was palpable as he did not have the energy left to celebrate a famous win at the fabled ground. In his own words, he had to keep going to give his team the best chance of winning the game.
“You bowl 45 overs in a Test match and win…probably the best comparison I could do…I’m pretty cooked. It was a big day today, the game was on the line. Bowling to win a Test match for your country on day five…however you wake up in the morning, if that doesn’t get you going or up for going out there and putting in for your team, I don’t know what will,” said Stokes.
