England captain Ben Stokes game plans from batters to combat Jasprit Bumrah the third test, which begins in Rajkot on February 15. In an effort to counter India’s top pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Ben Stokes advised his batters to create different game plans. Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as the top wicket-taker in a series that was predicted to be dominated by spin.
In the first two Tests, the pace ace has perplexed England’s top batsmen, including skipper Ben Stokes. Stokes could only hope that the England batting team finds a solution to the Bumrah conundrum, even though Bumrah was not to be found at the stadium during India’s three practice sessions before to the third Test here,
With 15 wickets at an average of 10.66 in the Test series thus far, Bumrah has been an obstacle for England’s team. India took a 143-run lead in the first innings of the second Test due to his 6/45, and the pacer claimed three more wickets in the final innings to help the home team even the five-match series at 1-1.
Everyone has got their own way of trying to deal with Jasprit Bumrah- Ben Stokes
Stokes urged the English batsmen to come up with a plan to counterattack Bumrah, citing him as an excellent bowler, during the press conference held prior to the third Test.
“Jasprit Bumrah is an unbelievable bowler. He’s proven that for a very long time and has performed really well in the two games. I think everyone has got their own way of trying to deal with Bumrah but we do have to score runs off him as well and that’s what we’ll try to do,” he said.
“But when that doesn’t work you just have to give credit to the bowler and Jasprit’s been outstanding the first two games. We’ve all got our own processes against every single bowler and there’s no team way of playing anyone. But as we always try to do we’ll be trying to keep the focus around us,” he reflected.
Hopefully there’s a lot more to come- Ben Stokes on playing his 100th Test in Rajkot
Bumrah became the first Indian bowler to reach 150 Test wickets in the second Test. Stokes, meanwhile, will play in his 100th Test match in Rajkot, but the all-round player played down the milestone, saying:
“I’m looking forward to getting the presentation done and dusted, then everything can be on the cricket. I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to play a part in 100 Tests, because it’s quite a lot – it’s a lot of warm-ups,’
“It’s one more game and hopefully there’s a lot more to come. There have been some great times in an England shirt and some not so great times. That is what’s great about professional sport,” he added.
Ben Stokes will go down as the 16th English player to play 100 Tests for his country. After Sir Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis, Stokes is just three wickets away from becoming the third player to record 6,000 runs and 200 wickets.
“I’ve been able to make sure every day is a learning day, whether it be good or bad. Later down the line, when I’m a bit older and maybe not playing, is when I’ll have more of a chance to reflect on everything I’ve done on the field,” he further added.
The focus is on this game and then everything after that- Ben Stokes
A 1-1 scoreline after two Tests, in Ben Stokes’ opinion, was a fair reflection of the series’ current state of affairs. Following a thrilling victory of 28 runs in the first Test of the series, England lost the second Test by 106 runs.
“1-1 is a fair reflection of the cricket that has been played in the first two games. The focus is on this game and then everything after that. If we play anywhere near to our capability, we’ll give ourselves a good chance of winning. If we do play good cricket, then the results looks after themselves,” Stokes explained.
With England having not lost a series since Stokes took over as captain in the middle of 2022 and India having not lost a home Test series since 2012, both teams have a lot hanging on their shoulders. The only change to England’s playing lineup for the Rajkot match is that pacer Mark Wood will start in place of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
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