Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has lauded Ben Stokes for his superhuman effort with the ball on the final day of the Lord's Test.
Stokes bowled a total of 24 overs with the ball in India's second innings, taking three wickets for 48 runs. He took the key wicket of KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah on the final day to ensure England's victory. He was also named the man Of The match for his all-round performance in the Test match.
Stokes dismissed Rahul in the 24th over of India's innings. In the morning session, he bowled an opening spell of 9.2 overs and then came back to take the key wicket of Bumrah in the 62nd over of India's innings.
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What A Player He Is - Irfan Pathan On Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes showed no signs of problems throughout the Test match as he bowled 44 overs and took five wickets in the Test match. He also affected the wicket of Rishabh Pant in the first innings at a crucial juncture for India. His wicket meant that the Indian lower-order could not push on and take the lead in their first innings.
Ben Stokes has a knee surgery leading into the Test series but showed no such signs in the Test series so far, particularly in this Test. His efforts were lauded by Irfan Pathan on his YouTube channel.
"Ben Stokes bowled a marathon 9.2 over spell in the morning on day five. What a player he is. He bowls, bats and executes a crucial run out of Rishabh Pant but there is no talk of workload management. But with India it is not like that," said Pathan in his YouTube channel.
While praising Ben Stokes, Pathan criticised all the talks regarding Jasprit Bumrah's workload management and said that workload management is overrated in today's cricket.
"Bumrah bowls five overs and waits for Joe Root to come out to bat when you need to control the game (in the second innings). It was disappointing. His workload was managed having not played at Edgbaston. When you play a match, there is no workload. You have to win at all costs. The Indian camp could have done that better" Pathan said.
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Will India Rest Bumrah In Manchester And The Oval
Jasprit Bumrah's workload management was the topic of discussion in the Indian dressing room before the series started. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir event went on record saying that Bumrah would play just three Test in the series as previously decided. He played the first Test at Headingley and the third Test at Lord's, both of which India lost.
The road ahead is tough for India in the remaining series. Having lost at Lord's, they are trailing in the series 2-1 and needs to win the remaining two Test matches to win the series. They have dropped to the fourth position on the WTC 2025-27 points table as well.
Also Read: Every Test Hat-Trick Ever: Full List After Scott Boland’s Feat vs West Indies
