India vs England: Ben Stokes offers absurd excuse for Edgbaston defeat

India outplayed the hosts in Birmingham to level the five-match Test series. That's the simplified summary of what went down across the five days of the second India vs England Test. One could say England fought as Harry Brook and the young wicketkeeper Jamie Smith threatened the visitors with respective tons in the first innings. Yet, the Indian captain, Shubman Gill, with his record-breaking double ton in the first innings and a century in the second innings, seemingly outperformed the entire English lineup. The victory, India's first-ever Test win at Edgbaston, was no fluke. The 336-run win in the second India vs England Test is India's biggest margin of victory overseas. Ben Stokes, the English captain, however, blamed the conditions for his team's failure.

India outperforms England, clinching a massive victory in the Edgbaston Test

Ben Stokes opted to bowl first, yet again, as he won the toss at Edgbaston. The surface in Birmingham mimicked that of Headingley, also flat and dead in its nature. Unlike the opening India vs England Test, where the hosts managed a 5-wicket win despite India scoring five centuries, the proceedings in Birmingham didn't favour the hosts. India's captain, Shubman Gill, made use of the surface as he showed his impeccable skills to smash a double ton in the opening innings. 

England's top order, meanwhile, was rattled early by Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj before Jamie Smith and Harry Brook took the onus. The session where India failed to break the middle-order partnership of Smith and Brook, where both of them hit their respective centuries, is marked as the only session where England outplayed India. Barring that partnership, England didn't manage to challenge the visitors in any other aspect across the five days.

Ben Stokes reasons for the loss in the second India vs England Test as he brings 'conditions' in the discussion

The surfaces as seen so far in the India vs England series are flat, offering little to nothing to the bowlers. However, it's not an aspect that the home team should complain about. Hosting the red-ball series, England enjoys the advantage of preparing surfaces that could challenge the visitors. However, if they keep developing pitches that provide an edge to the batters, Ben Stokes could not enjoy the leisure of complaining about the surface mimicking 'sub-continent' conditions.

However, that is exactly what Ben Stokes did as he tried to explain the reason behind his team's massive 336-run defeat at Edgbaston. Despite the dead conditions in Birmingham, Indian pace duo Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep rattled the England batting order. Siraj scalped six wickets in the first innings, while Akash Deep ruled the second innings with his own six-wicket haul. England and its mighty 'Bazball' fell flat as India cornered them into a defeat where even a draw seemed insurmountable.

The pitch that remained dead almost for the entirety of the second India vs England Test seemed to be like a 'sub-continent' surface, at least to Ben Stokes. The English captain explained that the Indian players were more equipped to command the game on the surface, which offered conditions similar to what the guests are habituated to playing on. With the realisation kicking in, it remains to be seen if the upcoming matches stage different conditions in the series.

“To be honest, it's probably ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch as it's got deeper and deeper into the game. You know, there was certainly a little bit in it to start off with, and I think we exposed that very, very well early on,” Stokes said following his massive defeat.

“But yeah, then just as it sort of got deeper and deeper, it just, yeah, it became a real tough slog for us and obviously, with the Indian attack and the conditions that they're used to, they were used to and used some of how to expose those conditions just sort of a little bit better than that can happen sometimes,” he added.

With the 336-run victory in the Edgbaston Test, the visitors have leveled the India vs England Test series. The proceedings will now move to Lord's, where both the teams are confirmed to field some changes in their combination. Shubman Gill has confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will rejoin the attack for the third Test. England, meanwhile, have called up Gus Atkinson in their squad for the next fixture. Notably, Jofra Archer is also awaiting a chance from the sidelines.