Ben STOKES the fire in England!

Bazball or not, this was bust for India as England have taken a 2-1 lead in the Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. At Lords on Monday, the action was gripping. One man threatened to turn defeat into victory, Sir Ravindra Jadeja. The way he batted, it was not an all-rounder on view, it was more like a champion batter on view fighting the English attack. Sir Jadeja, as the nickname goes, played as well as he could, out his heart and soul in. So did Jasprit Bumrah the tail-end batter who hung in for 54 deliveries. Mohd Siraj, the No.11 batter also tried hard. In the end, that one delivery from Shoaib Bashir flummoxed Siraj and he was bowled and England won by 22 runs.

There was drama, there was excitement, and it appeared, India would be wiped out in the session after lunch. That is when the fightback happened, with Jadeja showing how valuable he is to the side. Social media saw him earning praise, once again. But then, one has to congratulate and compliment the England captain Ben Stokes for his long spells with the ball and how he set the field in an aggressive way. Rewind to last Sunday, Ben Stokes had been slammed for defeat in the second Test after he won the toss and decided to invite India to bat.

At Lords, he won the toss and decided to bat first. This was change and it showed he was going to do something different. Well, the English attack showed they meant business as the effort on Sunday was massive, triggering a slide. On Monday, there was panic and distress, wickets fell. Post lunch, one man stood, unbeaten, Ravindra Jadeja, as he faced 181 deliveries for his unbeaten 61. Had India won, he would have been called a match-winner. Sadly, even after he smashed a half ton, Jadeja did not celebrate in a traditional way, the sword dance. He merely raised his bat. And Jadeja was also backing Siraj the batter. Perhaps, it was that nasty delivery from Jofra Archer which dented the confidence of Siraj. At the fag end of the contest, Archer made one bounce on that lifeless pitch. The ragged old red cherry climbed and hit Siraj on his shoulder. It was a hard hit/blow. Maybe, he was shaken.

As for effort, it was not just Indians who showed a heart, though Shubman Gill the skipper was a letdown, and so was first innings centurion KL Rahul. He scored a hundred but should have stayed longer. His knock was selfish, no denying it. Back to Siraj, when he had to face a change, Stokes brought back Shoaib Bashir. Imagine, the off-spinner was on the field, even sliding to stop deliveries when his left finger was cracked/fractured. And, soon, he came to bowl. The Pakistan-origin Bashir outfoxed Siraj, bowled. For almost a minute, Siraj stood at the crease, in disbelief. Well, he had been beaten and his wicket broken. Hi heart as well.

How does one describe the effort from Ben Stokes? He put in heart and soul, his bowling efforts resembling a warrior going all guns blazing with less ammo stock. And yet, Stokes was superb in his long spells wherein he claimed three wickets for 48 runs. To bowl 24 overs in the second innings, he was shouldering the load and in the firing line. To get the wickets of Rahul, Akash Deep and Bumrah was no mean feat.

The knives will be out for Shubman Gill. He failed with the bat in both the innings. More important, he got into needless scraps with the Englishmen. Sledging is an art, and Gill is still a babe in the woods. Down 1-2, how will he lead further? We will know soon. The momentum has swung back England’s way.