England captain Ben Stokes has fired a warning shot at Team India ahead of the much-anticipated Test between the two teams.
Ben Stokes has started his Test captaincy reign with a thumping series win over New Zealand. On Monday (June 27), he led England to a crushing 7-wicket win over the Kiwis in the third Test to complete a whitewash.
The home side needed 113 runs on day five of the Test to complete their chase of 296 and they did it in only 65 minutes. In-form Jonny Bairstow once again played a whirlwind knock while Joe Root scored a fine fifty.
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After rain delayed the start of play, England lost Ollie Pope for 82 in the first over. However, it did not stop England from winning the match with ease in the end. Bairstow and Root stitched together a dominant unbroken stand of 111 to take their team home. Root finished unbeaten on 86 while Bairstow smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 71 from 44 balls.
Ben Stokes’ warning for Team India:
More than the result, it was England’s style of play against New Zealand that has caught everyone’s attention. In all the three Tests, England had to chase more than 250 runs and they did it in style.
Under a new captain and new coach Brendon McCullum, the hosts showed remarkable attacking style to clinch the series. Before appointing Stokes as captain and McCullum as coach, England were having a torrid time in red-ball cricket. Before the series against New Zealand, they had managed to win just one of their 17 matches.
Stokes and McCullum, however, have completely transformed the side in just one series. England became the first team to chase over 250 three times in a series, chasing 277 at Lord’s, 299 at Trent Bridge and 296 at Headingley– the 12th-highest, fifth-highest and seventh-highest successful fourth-innings chases in their history.
England played aggressive cricket throughout the series and scored at a remarkable run-rate of 4.54 against the reigning World Test Champions. And ahead of the Test against India, Stokes has warned the visitors that the hosts would not change their aggressive style.
Speaking after winning the third Test, the England skipper was quick to talk about the upcoming Test. Stokes warned India that his teammates would play the game with the same mindset that they displayed against New Zealand.
“Different opposition (India), we still have a series to draw. We’ll come out with exactly the same mindset,” said Ben Stokes.
He also spoke about the fine start to his captaincy career. Stokes said that he wanted to change the mindset of the English dressing room after replacing Joe Root as the captain.
“It’s gone really well. To walk away with 3-0 series win over the best team in the world is a special start. When I took over this job, it was about changing the mindset of the guys towards Test cricket, was about having fun.
“Huge amount of credit to Brendon (McCullum) and the backroom staff,” said Stokes.
The Test between India and England is scheduled to be played from July 1 in Birmingham. The Test is a part of last year’s five-match Test series that had to be postponed after the fourth camp following a Covid outbreak in the Indian camp. India are leading the series 2-1.