Ben Stokes was going to be the key if England harboured an outside chance of knock off 399, with 205 more to get when play began post lunch on Day 4. But the England captain would be kicking himself after a lazy piece of running between the wicket saw him get run out by Shreyas Iyer, who nailed a direct hit to give India an early breakthrough in the second session and their seventh wicket of the innings.
The dismissal took place in the 53rd over of the innings, and the 10th after lunch when the ball took the inside edge off Ben Foakes’ bat and rolled towards the square. Foakes took off, as did Stokes, believing there’s plenty of time to make his crease. Only that there wasn’t. Iyer came running from midwicket and connected with a direct hit in a moment of brilliance on the field. And just like that, Stokes, the man who truly could turn things around, was gone.
Surprisingly, post lunch England played a brand of cricket not known for. Both Stokes and Foakes were extremely cautious, especially the England captain who went into a shell reaching 11 off 29 balls.
Watch the run out below:
Ben Stokes cooked on air
“The one wicket India wanted post lunch, the big one… Ben Stokes, casually running a single. He really was running casually but great effort from Shreyas Iyer. Not what you expect from the England captain. He was so casual, almost jogging to the crease, and pays the price for it,” Dinesh Karthik said about the dismissal on air.
Stokes had turned the game around several time for England across formats. Who could forget the unbeaten 131 he hit against Australia at Leed’s during the 2019 Ashes. He single-handedly held the innings together and put on a stunning rear-guard effort. This was the ideal platform for Stokes to do a repeat of Headingly. England’s hopes are now pinned on Ben Foakes, who is their last recognised batter.
