"Heart of this England team"- Former India all-rounder lauds Ben Stokes' performance on Day 5 of ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan lauded England captain Ben Stokes for his bowling performance on Day 5 of England versus India third Test at Lord's on Monday, July 14. The 39-year-old felt that Stokes was the heart of the England team, who had given his everything in this game.

Stokes took the key wicket of KL Rahul, lbw for 39, on the opening session of Day 5 to put India on the backfoot in their pursuit of the 193-run target.

"Ben Stokes bowled an 9.2 over spell on Day 5 of a Test match — pure grit. He’s not just a 4D player, he’s the heart of this England team. Giving it everything," Pathan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, July 14.

With only 193 runs to defend in the fourth innings, Stokes came in to bowl first change in the final session of play on Day 4. He took the wicket of Akash Deep late on the fourth day to leave India in the doldrums at 58/4.

England two wickets away from victory at Lord's as India's batters succumb on Day 5

India began the day needing 135 runs to win. However, the England bowlers were on the money from the word go. Jofra Archer knocked over Rishabh Pant for nine runs. Ben Stokes then got KL Rahul lbw for 39.

When Washington Sundar became Archer's second wicket of the day for nought, India were reeling at 82/7. Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy showed good application in handling the testing phase of bowling. But at the stroke of lunch, the latter fell to Chris Woakes for 13, caught by Jamie Smith, that broke the 30-run stand.

While England remain clear favourites to win the match, India will hope for Jadeja to get them close and make Stokes think to take the remaining two wickets. At the time of writing, India were 112/8, still needing 81 runs to win.