Ben Stokes: We’ve still got a great chance to win 3-2
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Rajkot. Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focussed on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory.
After challenging India hard over the first two days of the contest, England’s resolve collapsed on days three and four, with their final 18 wickets tumbling for 217 runs, either side of a free-wheeling second innings from India that was lit up by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 214.
The upshot was India’s largest victory by runs in Test history, and caused England’s ultra-positive approach to come under intense scrutiny – most particularly in the wake of Joe Root’s fateful reverse-scoop against Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning which triggered England’s slide from a threatening overnight scoreline of 207 for 2.
Stokes, however, insisted his side would not be swayed by outside opinion, and that they would instead double down on the dressing-room mentality that has carried the team to 14 wins in 21 matches since the start of the 2022 home summer, including a remarkable 28-run victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.
“Everyone’s got a perception and opinion about things,” Stokes said during the post-match presentations. “But again, the people in the dressing-room’s are the opinions that really matter to us.
“We know that things don’t always work out exactly how you want it to, but at 2-1 down in the series, still got two games left, so we’ve got a great chance to come home with the trophy at 3-2.
“We’ll make sure that we’re moving on and focusing on what we’ve got coming up ahead, because games can be won and lost in the head. We’ll be leaving all the emotion and disappointment from this week, and moving on to the next one.”
Root’s first-innings dismissal was described in one English newspaper as “the worst shot in Test history”, but the criticism of England’s batting also encompassed Stokes’ departure for 41, caught in the deep while trying to hit Ravindra Jadeja for six.
