Ben Stokes conjured up a spellbinding moment during Day 2 of the final Test of the series against India in Dharamsala. In his very first competitive delivery in nine months, Stokes dismissed his counterpart Rohit Sharma, who had been going strong at 103 at the time. After a lacklustre morning session for England, Stokes, who had refrained from bowling due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery, decided to test his arm.
The decision proved to be a masterstroke. With Rohit already notching his second century of the series, Stokes' peach of a delivery, seaming away just enough from a good length, found the Indian captain's off-stump.
Stokes' decision to unleash himself came at a crucial juncture following a challenging morning session for England, and the side's assistant coach Jeetan Patel stated that it was “written in the stars.”
India vs England Live Score, 5th Test
“He's (Stokes) a freak. It was almost written in the stars that he was going to bowl a jaffa first up and get Rohit Sharma out who was on 100. We all know how we can round our attack out, especially in conditions like these where you've usually got two spinners, two seamers and then you want your third in Stokesy,” Patel said in the post-match press conference.
"It was nice to see him back at the crease but we've just got to be careful we don't push him too far, it's still early days for him. I'm sure he'll rest up tonight, get some ice on it and see where it fronts tomorrow," said the former New Zealand spinner."
{{/usCountry}}"It was nice to see him back at the crease but we've just got to be careful we don't push him too far, it's still early days for him. I'm sure he'll rest up tonight, get some ice on it and see where it fronts tomorrow," said the former New Zealand spinner."
{{/usCountry}}The dressing room visuals summed up Rohit's dismissal; while Brendon McCullum, the head coach, shook his head in disbelief, even Mark Wood covered his mouth to display his shock. Patel stated the team members were “amazed” at Stokes bringing himself into the bowling attack.
“A little bit of amazement, a little bit written in the stars, a lot of people laughing. It's quite funny because he came on to bowl when the English crowds are waking up - they're flicking on the TV and the first thing they see is Ben Stokes bowling a really good delivery to Rohit Sharma,” Patel said.
“It's so nice to see him back; he's got better and better with his bowling skills (in the nets) over the tour so that's a huge positive for us. There's a lot of cricket to be played this year so it will be nice to have him back at the crease.”
India, however, remain in command of the proceedings in the final Test as they reached 473/8 by the end of Day 2, taking a strong 255-run lead over the visitors.