Follow UsRohit Sharma and Shubman Gill looked invincible until then. India were 275/1 in 61.1 overs, scoring at almost 4.5 runs/over with a first-innings lead in the bank. They were playing with patience and power, and the aesthetics were so eye-pleasing that, for a moment, you felt as if the snow-capped mountains had come in the outfield instead of the background.
Moreover, England were absolutely scrambling for control after being pulverised by the Indian top three. When they returned to the dugout during the lunch break, their faces and body language resembled a defeated army.
But that’s when their commander stood up.
Benjamin Stokes hadn’t bowled since the second Ashes Test in June 2023. He underwent surgery on his left knee and didn’t bowl in the 2023 ODI World Cup despite England looking listless with the ball in hand.
But he did bowl today, and boy wasn’t that just spectacular!
It was his first ball. He ran in from over the wicket to Rohit, looking as fit as ever. Face all red in Dharamshala’s gentle sun. A sight we have seen quite often in Test cricket, one which lets you know that things will heat up.
It might have been long since Stokes bowled, but his seam position was as good as ever, pointing towards the gully. He banged it hard in the pitch on a good length, in the line of the stumps, and the ball seamed and held its line instead of going down with the angle.
Rohit had batted for 161 balls until then. Still, this time, he was completely betrayed by that delivery, which was doing only what Stokes’ brilliant wrist position at release had commanded it to.
It shattered the Indian skipper’s off stump. The centurion went back with a smile on his face. A smile that reflected equal amounts of “what the hell is this guy” and “just not fair man”.
Suddenly, the defeated army was awakened from their slumber. In the next over, James Anderson cleaned up Shubman Gill to add a cherry on the stone-cold brilliant cake Stokes delivered. Meanwhile, Stokes’s face looked like he could have been discussing the weather with a disinterested teenager. He just high-fived his jubilant teammates. When the camera panned to the dressing room, Brendom McCullum had covered his mouth with his palm and was shaking his head in disbelief - an emotion felt by everyone who watched the dismissal live.
It was almost as if he knew he would do this. It was almost as if he knew he was the clutch England needed to press to change their gears. It was almost as if he knew he was Benjamin Andrew Stokes, and he’d find a way even when there was none.