If Ben Stokes hadn’t been sidelined by injury, Michael Vaughan thinks England would have defeated India in the fifth and final Test match at The Oval. Ollie Pope took over as the England captain after the captain was sidelined for the fifth Test because of a right shoulder injury.
On the last day of the match, with four wickets remaining, the Three Lions needed just 35 runs to win. Nevertheless, the tourists won by six runs to tie the series 2-2 thanks to a valiant effort by the Indian pacers, who were captained by Mohammed Siraj. Siraj was named Player of the Match after finishing the fourth innings with scores of 5/104.
On the last morning of the Test series, England panicked and failed to form the one partnership they required, according to Vaughan. Pope’s team panicked and were unable to play their famously aggressive style of cricket, according to the former England captain.
“England would have won this Test match if Ben Stokes had been in that squad this morning.
He has a huge impact on this team’s mindset. England panicked after what you went through this morning. They only required one alliance. They played with a great deal of aggression, and they panicked as best they could,” Vaughan stated during an appearance on the BBC’s Test Match Special.
In the first four Test matches, Stokes bowled a lot. In four games, he bowled 140 overs and claimed 17 wickets at a 25.24 average. Long stretches of bowling were also observed by the 34-year-old. Stokes amassed 304 runs at an average of 43.43 from seven innings of batting.
The series finished in a 2-2 draw, with both players sharing the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. On the other hand, cricket fans will never forget the competitiveness and quality of the game. The series was so hotly contested that all five Test matches advanced to the final day.
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