Shubman Gill will have to do it all, after Ben Stokes exerted his dodgy shoulder and peck muscles to remove KL Rahul on 90. India crossed 200 with 3 wickets down, with Washington Sundar keeping the centurion captain Gill company.
However, Stokes added another legend to his greatness when he returned on Day 5 after not bowling on Day 4, guiding England this time to the second new ball. He looked in deep discomfort after every delivery as the countdown to the second new ball started.
The concerns that started out for his hamstring in fact were redirected to the shoulder as he kept rubbing it wincing in pain. Yet, he bowled three consecutive maidens – overs No 73, 75, 77 well after trapping KL lbw in the 71st.
Sky sports expert Ricky Ponting would say, that Stokes needed to give the arm some rest. “I’d be thinking about giving him a rest now and bowling someone else at that end, then I’d give Stokes the new ball along with maybe Woakes,” he opined, though the England captain just kept going on.
“The other thing with him is, once he stops bowling it might be hard for him to get going again with that peck or shoulder problem,” Ponting said. “I think he must be fine. You wouldn’t be risking someone like Ben Stokes if it was that bad. Maybe they knew about it before he started bowling this morning… and it certainly hasn’t hindered the way he’s bowled,” Ponting added to Sky.
“He’s looked the most dangerous, hasn’t he? Every time he’s got that ball in his hand during the series, he’s made something happen. He’s setting an example for his team,” he added about the captain who fought intense pain with India still 100 away at that point.
After his seventh over since morning yielded 1 run, Stokes would usher in the new ball handing it to Chris Woakes even as Gill stayed defiant.
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That England’s fortunes hinge on Stokes was evident as he was the one to strike crucially and send back KL. Sky Sports Cricket’s Stuart Broad said, “He always has an impact on the game! He’s been brilliant this morning with the ball, creating a chance – that dropped catch at cover – and then this one. That was unplayable. And Stokes knew immediately,” Broad told Sky.
