Despite a commanding batting display from the Indians on the third day, England have not yet given up salvaging a consolation victory in the final Test of the series. Mercurial all-rounder Ben Stokes has revealed his side’s intentions ahead of what promises to be a thrilling couple of days in Chennai.
At the end of day press conference, the 25-year old reflected on the visitors’ position in the fifth Test and admitted that there might not be that much of a difference between a 0-4 or a 0-3 score line.
Stokes insisted, “Definitely, we don’t want to go away (with) a 4-0 or 3-0 (series result). We want to walk away with a win and go away with our heads held high. That all depends on how tomorrow goes, if we can get out there and run through them in a session. Go out and get some runs and put them under pressure. I think we (can) get into the dressing room and say we worked really hard today and you (can) get rewards tomorrow.”
He added, “It’s always nice to get a wicket at the end of the day and both guys (Karun Nair and Murali Vijay) have to start again tomorrow. Then if we get one, there is obviously the all rounders but we can get the wickets in close succession. So yes, that’s probably our aim tomorrow to try and restrict them and not try and let them get too far ahead.”
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After England had scored 477 in their first-innings, they struggled to apply scoreboard pressure and failed to strike regularly. Led by KL Rahul’s stellar 199, India surged to 391 for the loss of just 4 wickets at the end of the third day. With the deficit at 86 runs, the hosts will be eyeing a handy lead.
Stokes was given only nine overs despite prising out the key wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara. In contrast, the other two seamers in Stuart Broad and Jake Ball sent down 33 overs between them.
The Durham all-rounder felt, “In every game (in the series), someone (from the Indian team) has gone on to get a big score. It’s nice to see the back of (Virat) Kohli but yes, unfortunately, someone else obviously ends up getting a big score.
“I think we tried a lot but sometimes you are going to hold your hands up and say the partnership (between Rahul and Nair) that they had throughout the day, they played really well,“ he concluded.
