Ben Stokes explains how England will 'benefit' from 4th T20I loss to India

Ben Stokes, who scored a quickfire 46 off just 23 balls and almost took the game away from India said England can ‘benefit’ from the 8-wicket loss in the 4th T20I in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Till the time Ben Stokes was out there in the middle, England had a more than likely chance to win the fourth T20I against India and also seal the series. But the first two balls of Shardul Thakur in 17th over changed everything. England’s set batsmen Stokes and Morgan were out and India sat on the driver’s seat. As it turned out the 13 runs per over required rate in the last 20 deliveries was a bit too much for England’s lower-order. India won the match by 8 runs to level the five-match series 2-2.

India v England - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India - March 18, 2021 England's Ben Stokes in action (REUTERS)

Stokes, who scored a quickfire 46 off just 23 balls, however said England can ‘benefit’ from the loss to India on Thursday.

"Whoever wins that game wins the series so you know that's great for us as a team, and especially with the T20 World Cup coming up, the more pressure situations we get into as a team, the more we will benefit from it," Stokes told reporters during the post-match interaction.

"The more pressure that we get under as a team, the more that's going to do for us in that World Cup, because World Cups can end very quickly. Every game is a big game."

Speaking about Shardul’s over that turned the game towards India, Stokes said either him or captain Eoin Morgan had to stay there till the end to ensure England’s victory.

"One of us have got to be there till the end. Leaving that many runs for our bottom order to have to deal with obviously is less than ideal. In that situation, one of our middle-order needs to be there till the end to get it over the line. It's always more frustrating when you feel like you've got the game in your hands."

"Rather than going away and being too down on myself you got to look at these things and assess them and learn from them. You know we've got a T20 World Cup coming up and there's no doubt it will put in a similar situation at some point in that tournament so these are all great learning experiences for us as players," he said.

Talking about Saturday's game, he said: "It is a final because if we don't win then we lose the series, and we don't want to lose the series."

"We want to make a habit of winning. As I said the more situations we get put into where we've got pressure on us and we keep prevailing, that's just got to do with the world of good."