England lost their last six wickets for 35 runs.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is levelled at 2-2. After a rollicking series that went down to the wire, it was the Indians who had the final laugh. Mohammed Siraj rose to the occasion with a stupendous five-wicket haul, and took his team over the line. England came out to bat requiring 35 runs with four wickets in hand on Day 5. After the first two balls from Prasidh Krishna went for boundaries, it was all India. Ben Stokes and the England management will have some questions to ponder going ahead.
Mohammed Siraj first came to the party, dismissing wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith. England made their intentions pretty clear, and were willing to finish things off in a hurry. But Siraj and Krishna had other plans. The highest wicket-taker of the series then rattled Jamie Overton as he was dismissed LBW. Overton chose to review the decision, but had to walk back in disbelief. Prasidh Krishna’s accurate yorker was all it took for Josh Tongue to be sent back to the pavilion. With a little fight from Gus Atkinson, the hosts required seven runs with one wicket in hand. And that’s when came the moment of the series.
However, after all the analysis and discussions, former English skipper Michael Vaughan has weighed in on all the drama on the 25th day of the series. Vaughan feels that the absence of Ben Stokes might have had an impact on England ending up on the losing side. Stokes played a huge role in the first four Tests, and was an extremely vital cog in England winning two out of the first four matches. But with a big Ashes series looming over them, England’s over-dependence on Stokes might come back to bite them.
“With Ben Stokes in that team, England would’ve won this Test match. He plays such a big role in this team. Clearly, Ben Stokes is going to have to get fit. With Ben Stokes in the England side, they can beat anybody. Without him, they can lose to anybody” expressed Vaughan after the match.
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The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy went well for England. They managed to hit back at India in moments in which the pendulum could have swung both ways. But in most of those moments, Ben Stokes was the architect who cultivated the belief. The best instance to support this statement would be his spell at Lord’s on the final day of the third Test. Shoaib Bashir became a hero because of his dismissal at the end, but Stokes played a crucial role in getting England there.
After a brief break, the English skipper will have to jot down his team which will be on the flight to Australia. The all-important Ashes series is scheduled to begin in November. Another player who will have to be at the top of his game would be Joe Root. The England No.4 batter has more than 13,500 Test runs to his name, and is only behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in terms of runs. But he is yet to score a hundred on Australian soil, and this Ashes series will be a huge test of his grit and resolve.
Vaughan also spoke about what the visitors will need to put up a fight against the mighty Australians. More than the batting, the former skipper expressed concerns over England’s bowling attack. With Chris Woakes out of the equation (at the moment), there is clearly a lot of workload on Ben Stokes. Vaughan also spoke about Harry Brook’s approach. He stated what he would like to see from the English youngster in the Ashes series.
“We’ll arrive in Perth for that first Test and know the top seven. It’s just a matter of the bowling attack and getting that right. Brook had that thought process that he wanted to hit 30 or 40 quick runs. I don’t want to take away from his positivity and flamboyance. But in Sydney, if England are 2-1 up, dig in Harry”, mentioned Vaughan.
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