IND vs ENG | Ben Stokes' spell turned the game on its head, claims Alex Lees
Alex Lees claimed that it was England captain Bem Stokes' spell on the fourth day of the Test match against India that turned the game on its head. The England captain bowled really well on the morning of the fourth day to make sure that the Indian batters did not take the game away from them.
England is looking set to create history in the final Test match of the series against India and deny the visitors a series victory. The Indian team for a long period of the game dominated the match but looked flat on the fourth day. England has taken advantage of the situation and is batting well so far in the second innings of the game as Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have dominated the Indian pacers.
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Find OutHowever, the situation was very different when play resumed on the fourth day and India was firmly ahead with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant at the crease. It looked like India will bat England out of the game but that was not the case as Ben Stokes provided important breakthroughs and made sure India did not take the game away from them. English opening batter Alex Lees was all praise for his captain and claimed that Stokes' spell turned the game on its head.
"The thing that actually brought us back into the game was our bowling. I think (Ben) Stokes' spell this morning (when he took four wickets) really turned the game on its head. And that is probably the defining moment for me in this Test match. We could have easily been chasing 450 - 500 (runs). So I think, the bowlers, how they bowled that second innings and particularly this morning, coming in overnight, I think that was the biggest turning point,” Alex Lees said after the game.
Ben Stokes took 4 wickets during the innings which included the prized wickets of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. With England firmly ahead in this game, India will need a special performance from the bowlers if they want to win the game.