At Headingley, Leeds, on June 24, England captain Ben Stokes praised opener Ben Duckett for his game-winning performance in the first Test match against India. The left-handed batsman was crucial to England’s five-wicket victory in the first game of the series, striking an incredible 149 from 170 deliveries.
The hosts achieved their second-highest successful chase in Test history in 82 overs while chasing a formidable score of 371 in the fourth innings. After an exciting run chase, Jamie Smith launched the ball into the stands to secure England a 1-0 lead in the five-match series and seal the victory in style.
“This is just one more memory to add to the pleasant ones we’ve made here over the past few years. From the final hour of day five to the pursuit of a huge total, it was an incredible Test match to be a part of. “The series is off to a pretty special start,” Stokes said to Sky Sports Cricket.
“Ben Duckett was amazing. Batting is difficult enough, especially in England, and the strain of the fourth innings is even more difficult.
Therefore, Zak [Crawley] and Ben Duckett collaboration was simply amazing; they provided us with excellent setup,” Stokes continued.
The dominating 188-run opening combination between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, which set a strong platform for the side to attain the target on Day 5, was the driving reason behind England’s successful chase, according to Stokes.
“Those two are such a great match. Although Ben Duckett massive score helped us win this game, Stokes stated, “I thought Crawley’s ability to remain calm and in the moment was also very important to this win.”
Stokes chose to bowl first after winning the toss, however this move initially backfired as India scored 471 runs in the first innings. In the end, though, England prevailed thanks to a spectacular comeback that saw them win by five wickets on the last day.
Before a ball is bowled, you have no idea what will happen. It’s a good thing that Test cricket is played over five days because you have to choose the strategy you believe will give you the best chance of winning. Stokes stated, “We were trying to figure out what would give us the best chance to win this game.”
“On the first day, the wicket here appeared to have some grass on top of it and some dampness underneath. In order to try to hit a few early poles, we bet on ourselves to win that toss and bowl first,” he continued.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), KL Rahul (137), Shubman Gill (147), and Rishabh Pant (134 and 118) all contributed five hundreds for India in their opening innings. Despite the impressive batting performance, England altered the tide of the match and won handily in Leeds by taking advantage of India’s lost field opportunities, especially the dropped catches.
“There’s no denying that striving for totals boosts team confidence. However, that does not imply that things will always proceed that way. The opponent boys performed admirably. Stokes added, “We bowled pretty well in that first session, but India as well, I thought they played incredibly well on day one. This is international-level cricket, where the quality of players on either side is very good.”
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