It is just unfortunate for any player to miss out on a match, due to an injury. But when it comes to Ben Stokes, who has stood firm between India and win, it definitely is something, that would give Shubman Gill & Co., a lot of confidence coming into the Oval Test, the final clash between the two sides. And why not.
Ben Stokes – India’s Nemesis
After all, the England skipper has picked up 17 wickets — the most in the series, and has been nothing short of a nemesis for Indian batters. In some ways, he has ensured wickets for his side, when nothing seemed to working — and then finally bounced back to an excellent batting form, scoring his first ton in Tests since 2023.
| Innings | Runs | Avg | HS | 100s |
| 7 | 304 | 43.43 | 141 | 1 |
To further understand the kind of damage Stokes inflicted upon Team India — we must go back to all the previous matches in the series — one-by-one. In the Leeds match, in the first innings, he returned with figures of 4/66. He played some role in India’s collapse from 447/5 to 471 all out. There he bagged the wickets of Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur — both ducks.
Highest Wicket-taker in IND vs ENG Series
Second Test, he failed — returned with figures of 1/74 and 0/26 and with that, India scripted a historic 336-run win. Lord’s Test, he was the one who effected Rishabh Pant run out, just before lunch, when the latter was batting on 74. In fact, he was the one who dismissed Shubman Gill for only 16, who was coming on the back of twin hundreds from Edgbaston.
| Overs | Wickets | Avg | 5 Wickets | BBI |
| 140 | 17 | 25.24 | 1 | 6/105 |
During India’s chase in the second innings at Lord’s, defending under 200, he put his body on the line, and came up with marathon 9-10 over spells, which changed the course of the match. He returned with figures of 3/48 in 24 overs, and also got rid of KL Rahul for 39, and looked the most solid batter.
Holds Value as Skipper Too
Come Manchester, it was just Ben Stokes all the way. He bowled, he batted, and gave it his all. He claimed his first fifer in 7-8 years, in the first innings. Then of course, his 141 just took the game, miles away for India. In the second, innings, he could only send down 11 overs, but he was tidy in them, despite nursing some issues in his body. In fact, he had an eight-over battling spell, fighting an injury.
One can’t even clearly mention the tactical brilliance he brought in with his captaincy. But now, that is gone from the Oval Test, and India might just have it a little easy in his absence. Though that in no way guarantees a win for the visitors — but the balance of the English team has certainly gone for a toss.
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