TimesofIndia.com in Manchester: 8-2-11-1. Forty-eight eventful deliveries, one big wicket of KL Rahul, and almost the dismissal of Shubman Gill, Enland captain Ben Stokes on Sunday put on a spectacle, not just another show, at Old Trafford on an overcast Day 5 morning of the Manchester Test.
He constantly rubbed his shoulder, clutched his hamstring, felt stiffness in the bicep of his bowling arm, and grimaced in pain every over, yet kept charging in during what turned out to be a gripping passage of play.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Operating from the Sir James Anderson End, Stokes—who brought himself on in the second over of the day—immediately identified the variable zone and relentlessly targeted it from wide of the crease. The angle and the tricks offered by the pitch made life difficult for the overnight pair of Rahul and Gill. Some deliveries kept alarmingly low, while others reared awkwardly off a good length.
The right-handers struggled to deal with the angle and two-paced bounce, which ultimately led to Rahul’s dismissal. The ball jagged back sharply after pitching, and the low bounce trapped Rahul plumb in front. Stokes was elated, forgetting all his niggles in that moment. He leapt in celebration but held back slightly, letting out a restrained fist pump.
With spring in his stride, the England captain wasn’t ready to ease off. He could sense another wicket coming with the pressure he was building. India looked tentative—Gill had already survived a close chance and taken a painful blow to his right thumb. After Rahul’s exit, Gill was the big fish, and Stokes was determined to remove him. So much so that he bowled an eight-over spell before handing over to the pacers armed with the second new ball.
Before Day 5, there had been many questions surrounding whether Stokes would bowl at all. But he seemed locked in, ready to give it everything. That spirited spell not only broke a stubborn partnership but also kept Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, and Brydon Carse fresh for a later burst with the new ball. Considering his already immense workload in the series—including a five-wicket haul and a century at Lord’s, followed by two days of bed rest—Stokes had to dig deep into his reserves for that effort.
Across five days, he barely left the field, constantly challenging the opposition with bat and ball. His intensity never dropped. At a time when player workload is a trending concern, Stokes has seemingly erased the word from his vocabulary. In this ongoing battle of I vs Me vs India, Ben Stokes remains the real winner.
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