Ben Stokes’ Fire And Desire Keep England’s Hopes Intact

An image of Ben Stokes down on his hunches flashed on the screen before he delivered the 4th ball of the 80th over on Day 2 in Ahmedabad. It was a rare moment where energy wiped out of Stokes’ body and gave away the fact that he is human afterall. Only so long he could’ve run in and kept England in the game.

It was a day where India were supposed to leave England hopeless. To pile on their agony after dismissing them for 205 on the best batting surface of the last three Tests. To surpass them and take a lead impregnable in proportion in what happens to be a series-deciding Test.

But for a while, in an absorbing period of play just before the middle of the 2nd session from where Rishabh Pant took it past them, it seemed England could really boss it. And it was Stokes who gave England a reason to dream, a semblance of hope that they can achieve the ultimate. If not for nothing, it is for raising the whole quality of play that Stokes’ day deserves a mention.

A Test batting average of 37.33; a Test bowling average of 31.67. A big reputation, exemplary performances but not great conventional numbers. Those numbers often raise a question mark over his consistency but to look him through the prism of just those numbers is also doing Stokes injustice.

He once again reinforced the value he brings to this England team. His fire and desire were both on show as he pushed India back when they would’ve hoped to gain ascendancy. Stokes’ incisive spell troubled the best of Indian batters, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom he dismissed.

Stokes’ angle of release forces you to play the ball that you know will definitely move away from close to the off-stump but just not sure by how much? Kohli was the victim of one such ball as he didn’t just go about cutting it but also realised the bounce is too high for him to control his cut shot.

Kohli, still, is a batsman not enjoying the best of run through this series. That batsman is Rohit and Stokes got him out too with an even better delivery that swung so late as to make a well-set batsman look clueless. Stokes had been troubling Rohit with the incomer throughout the day and he finally reaped the just rewards.

Rohit’s dismissal had left India precariously placed at 121/5 and it required another truly remarkable knock from Pant to resurrect the situation.

The day will rightfully be etched in memories for this Pant knock. But the very fact that India were forced to produce an innings of such quality just to bail themselves out says something about the effort that Stokes and the rest put in.

Whether it is a wholehearted trier in Jack Leach or a stalwart in the class of Anderson, whose longevity and desire to continue improving makes him an inspiration, they’ve summed up England’s zeal and competitiveness. As has Stokes, with his first half-century of the series after walking in at 30/3 and then delivering a spell so high in quality that even India’s best couldn’t cope with it.

And to think of it, his 55 off 121 and 2/73 from 22 overs will fade away from memories and be lost in the scorecards of another lost series. But Stokes is beyond those numbers and he once again proved it, keeping England alive when they seemed dead and buried. If not for nothing, it is the keeping of the hopes alive that Stokes’ effort deserves to be remembered.