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Batting maestro Joe Root has hailed England captain Ben Stokes for putting his body on the line against India in the third Test, eventually resulting in a thrilling 22-run victory at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The three-lions captain Stokes stood tall with his all-round performance, which helped his team in securing a 2-1 lead over the visitors at the home of cricket.
Ben Stokes’ remarkable resilience and leadership were on full display during the fifth day of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy third Test.
The all-rounder bowled the most number of overs, 44 in the match, including a tireless spell of 9.2 overs on the final day’s morning and another 10 overs late in the day to help England seal a memorable win.
Overall, Ben Stokes took five wickets along with 77 runs with the willow and a match-turning run-out of Rishabh Pant in India’s first essay.
Now, Joe Root, who captained England before Stokes, lauded him and revealed some interesting insights behind his work ethic.
“He doesn’t always listen to me. He didn’t listen to me when I was captain, Root revealed.
“But, no, he knows what he’s doing and he’s got a good handle on where he’s at physically. It was an incredible effort,” he said while praising Stokes.
Joe Root called the skipper the man of the moment and a change-maker who makes things happen.
“He’s just desperate to be the man and make things happen. Incredible effort to be able to do that,” Root added.
The top-order batter stated that he was nervous due to Stokes’ bowling effort and called it an excellent sign for the England team.
“I was just panicking that he wasn’t going to make it through the game after a couple of bad injuries, but he clearly trusts his body now. It’s a great sign for us moving forward. I mean it really is isn’t it, because that’s back to his best,” he concluded.
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