Ben Stokes wasn’t paying attention, and it cost him as Shreyas Iyer’s accurate throw got England down to seven wickets. England relied on Ben Stokes to play a crucial role in chasing 399, needing 205 more runs on Day 4 post-lunch. Unfortunately, a careless run-out due to lazy running saw him dismissed by Shreyas Iyer, providing India with an early breakthrough in the second session, claiming England’s seventh wicket.
In the 53rd over and 10th post-lunch, the ball, after an inside edge from Ben Foakes’ bat, rolled towards the square. Both Foakes and Stokes thought they had enough time to reach the crease. However, Iyer’s exceptional moment came as he ran from midwicket, hitting the stumps directly. In an instant, Stokes, the potential game-changer, was dismissed.
Unexpectedly, England adopted an uncharacteristic style of play after lunch. Both Stokes and Foakes displayed extreme caution, with the England captain particularly becoming defensive, scoring 11 off 29 balls.
You can watch the video here:
🎯 Shreyas goes 𝘚𝘪𝘪𝘶𝘶𝘶 with a stunning direct hit to get rid of the dangerous Stokes 🥶#BazBowled #IDFCFirstBankTestsSeries #JioCinemaSports#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/SNrchCWtsF
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 5, 2024
“The one wicket India wanted post lunch, the big one… Ben Stokes, casually running a single. He really was running casually but great effort from Shreyas Iyer. Not what you expect from the England captain. He was so casual, almost jogging to the crease, and pays the price for it,” Dinesh Karthik said about the dismissal on air.
Stokes, a consistent game-changer for England, is remembered for his remarkable unbeaten 131 against Australia at Leeds during the 2019 Ashes, where he single-handedly stabilized the innings with a stunning rear-guard effort.
Despite England’s resilience in a half-century partnership between Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley, Jasprit Bumrah returned to wrap up the innings, bowling England out for 292 and securing a 106-run victory for India.
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