IND vs ENG: "We Just Beat The Best Team In The World 3-0" - Ben Stokes Says England Won't Change Playing Style Against India
Published - 01 Jul 2022, 01:15 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:09 AM
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Ben Stokes, the captain of England, has said that the home team won’t alter their style of play against India in the lone Test, which begins on Friday in Birmingham (July 1). The all-rounder said that England is focused on playing their best game against the Indians after recently defeating the “greatest team” in the world 3-0.
In a recently finished home Test series, England destroyed New Zealand 3-0. The series marked both Stokes’ debut as the team’s full-time Test captain as well as Brendon McCullum’s first as the team’s Test coach.
We Are Concentrating On Ourselves: Ben Stokes
Before the rescheduled Test at Edgbaston, Stokes spoke candidly about the difficulty of playing India. He stated:
“Well, we just beat the best team (New Zealand) in the world 3-0. India is obviously a completely different opposition, different dynamic of a team but we are concentrating on ourselves.
We understand what we do well but we have also taken into account who we are playing against. Just because the opposition changes doesn’t mean we change.”
Regarding the possibility of England playing cricket even more aggressively than they did against the Kiwis, the 31-year-old bragged:
“If there’s a team that can, it’s us.”
I Used To Watch The Way Virat Kohli Lead India: Ben Stokes
Due to a mental health hiatus, Stokes missed the last Test series against India. When asked what he thought of the 2021 series, the cricketer spoke directly:
“To be honest, I wasn’t even watching cricket last summer. I didn’t watch most of it (India-England matches). But the thing with India is, the way Virat (Kohli) led India in Tests, was something to watch. So yeah, looking forward to the contest again.”
India had a 2-1 lead over Joe Root’s England after four games before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.
The Match Is Bigger Than Just A Win: Ben Stokes
If England defeats India in Edgbaston, the five-match series will end in a 2-2 tie. Stokes acknowledged that winning the Test will be important, but he insisted that he is considering the broader picture while keeping England’s development as a Test country in mind.
(Photo: Twitter)
“We still obviously know that we need to win this game to draw the series. We obviously want to win every game we play but it is bigger than that. I think what we managed to do over the last three weeks is just reshape Test cricket with the way we played.
We want people to enjoy watching us play. I think people are enjoying watching us play because they don’t know what they are going to get.”
Stokes contributed with the bat in England’s 3-0 victory over New Zealand, scoring 194 runs at a 48.50 average and an 82.55 strike rate.
Also Read: ENG vs IND: Breaking News: BCCI Announces Squads For 3-match T20I Series Against England
