Despite losing by 106 runs, England continued to pursue the ball with their extremely aggressive ‘Bazball’ strategy.
Ben Stokes, the captain of England, stated on Monday that he was fully confident in his batsmen’s ability to chase a nearly unachievable 399 against India in the second Test match that ended in a loss in Visakhapatnam, citing the fact that “scoreboard pressure” always brought out the best in them. Despite losing by 106 runs, England continued to pursue the ball with their extremely aggressive ‘Bazball’ strategy. But other from Zak Crawley (73), the visiting batters were unable to turn their beginnings into significant scoring opportunities.
“We were completely confident in our ability to pursue that. The way we have gone about taking on challenges like that is what we are about,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“In moments like that, when you have scoreboard pressure, that is when we get the best out of ourselves as individuals,” he stated.
Stokes had no suggestions for his batters regarding their strategy because he was really happy with the way his team performed throughout the game.
“Although we did a terrific job applying ourselves and applying pressure on India, the outcome did not turn out as planned. I’m not going to give you any advice on how to go play outside.
“We knew there is a task ahead, knew there was 330 (332) to get, everybody in that dressing room is a quality player.” He said that Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and rookie Shoaib Bashir, his inexperienced spin trio, appeared ready for international cricket.
“Being their captain wasn’t a challenge. I was utterly enamored with (it). It was amazing to watch Tom, Bash, and Rehan put up a fantastic performance yesterday, despite having three matches between them.
“They showed a lot of maturity, a lot of skill,” he commented.
Along with complimenting Indian star Jasprit Bumrah (who took nine wickets in the encounter), he also acknowledged his senior pace spearhead James Anderson (who claimed five wickets in the game). Bumrah’s performance earned him the title of man of the match.
“They demonstrated great skill and maturity. Jimmy is incredible, Anderson. You see two outstanding fast bowlers, Jimmy and Jasprit Bumrah. You raise your hand (for Bumrah) even while you are facing opposition. “That player for us is Jimmy,” he remarked.
