Image Credit- AFP
The captain of England, Ben Stokes, has pledged that
his team will put their devastating 434-run defeat in the third Test in Rajkot
behind them and concentrate solely on recovering to win the series 3-2 in
Ranchi later this week.
Following a fierce opening two days of the match in which England pushed India
hard, their resolve broke on days three and four as their last eighteen wickets
fell for 217 runs, either side of an explosive second innings from India that
was ignited by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 214.
The result was India’s biggest-ever victory in Test
history by runs, and it brought England’s overly optimistic strategy under
severe criticism. This was especially true after Joe Root’s crucial
reverse-scoop against Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning, which set off
England’s collapse from a commanding overnight scoreline of 207 for 2.
But Stokes vowed his team would not be influenced by what other people thought,
saying they would stick to the winning mindset that has helped them win 14 out
of 21 games since the 2022 home summer began, including an incredible 28-run
victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.
“Everyone’s got a perception and opinion about
things,” Stokes said during the post-match presentations. “But again,
the people in the dressing-room’s are the opinions that really matter to us.
“We know that things don’t always work out exactly how you want it to, but
at 2-1 down in the series, still got two games left, so we’ve got a great
chance to come home with the trophy at 3-2.
“We’ll make sure that we’re moving on and focusing on what we’ve got
coming up ahead, because games can be won and lost in the head. We’ll be
leaving all the emotion and disappointment from this week, and moving on to the
next one.”