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After the crushing 336-run loss to India in the second Test here, England captain Ben Stokes rued two moments that he thought turned things for his team.
“Having them 200 for five (211 for five) and then not quite being able to blast them open like we know that we can… they ended up getting a big first-innings total,” recalled Stokes.
“We had a chance to potentially bowl them out for under 350, which would have been a good effort. Then, being 80 for five (84 for five) in reply… It’s obviously going to be tough to get back.”
Stokes praised Akash Deep, who finished with a match haul of 10 wickets.
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“I thought Akash exposed that crack last night (Saturday) and this morning (Sunday). His ability to use and change his angles consistently and still be so accurate… He was zoning in on that crack. That one (delivery) Harry Brook got, you can’t do anything about that. It is an incredible skill to hone in on that zone while still changing angles on the crease.”
The 34-year-old all-rounder stated that England wouldn’t be too downbeat after the defeat, with the only concern being the physical recovery before the Lord’s Test that begins on Thursday. England, in fact, played with the same XI in both Leeds and Birmingham.
“I’m quite good, and the team is quite good, at staying level throughout these ups and downs,” Stokes said. “That is so important in a series where there are going to be ebbs and flows because there are two very good teams.
“It would have been great to carry the momentum over from the first game, but we have to wipe this one under the carpet quickly. We will have one or two days to get the bodies right, and all of a sudden, we will be out there flipping the coin.”
