Follow UsThis was the first time England lost a Test series under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, and they will play for pride in Dharamsala - with India already winning the series 3-1. However, if they can win the match, they will become the first team in 12 years to win more than one game in a series.
On a team front too, this has already been a big evolution for England given they have run India down to the ground multiple times in the series already. Sure, India made a comeback as they always do, but keeping them on their toes has been England’s biggest success story of the year.
“If you take the result by itself you’d say, ‘Oh, we’ve going backwards’, but we haven’t,” Ben Stokes said in an interaction with UK media, reported The Telegraph. “The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour. Even before we got here, I hadn’t seen the group for a very long time because of the rehab on my knee, but progression doesn’t always show itself with the results. I think how everyone committed to becoming a better version of themselves from when we last played was quite obvious.
“Everyone’s fitter. Everyone was just – I don’t want to say there’s more desire – but it was just a really different feel around how we operated from the summer before [2023]. When you know that you’re part of something special, you want to work your nuts off to keep your place in the team.
“We’ve definitely evolved as a team. Just because the scoreline at the moment reads 3-1, it doesn’t mean that we’ve gone backwards. There are lots of these things that we have massively progressed on as a team whilst out on this tour. We haven’t been the pushovers like many teams have looked like when they’ve come over here because of how dominant a force India are in their home conditions.”
In a massive chapter for English cricket, Jonny Bairstow will become the 17th player to make 100th Test appearances. He has a roller coaster of a career, more so now, where his form has come under scanner. However, Stokes applauded his teammate while adding that playing 100 Tests for England would be a hugely emotional moment for the wicket-keeper batter.
"This is probably going to be more of an emotional thing for Jonny than it ever was for me. I don't need to go into details as to why about the whole family. He's got his mam, sister, partner, little baby boy, and some friends here.
"Playing for England means so much to Jonny and means so much to his family as well and to play over 100 ODIs, 100 Tests - a lot of cricket for England - it means a hell of a lot to him. He deserves everything that gets spoken about him in the build-up to the game and throughout the week as well,” the England skipper added.