Ben Stokes bagging a wicket with his first ball in 251 days was described as “magical” by England assistant Jeetan Patel on an otherwise difficult day in Dharamsala.
England appeared bereft after a wicketless first session on day two of the fifth Test as hundreds from Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110) carried India into a position of outright dominance.
Stokes had one trump card left and used it in the second over after lunch, bowling competitively for the first time since July 1 last year and producing a beauty which thudded into Rohit’s off stump.
India closed on 473 for eight and a lead of 255 after England fought back in the final session, while Stokes’ instant impact and his five-over spell which yielded one for 17 augurs well for the future.
“He’s a freak,” said Patel. “It was almost written in the stars that he was going to bowl a jaffa first up. It’s magical, isn’t it? It’s so nice to see him back.
“He came on to bowl when the English crowds are waking up; they’re flicking on the TV and the first thing they see is Ben Stokes bowling a really good delivery to Rohit Sharma.”
Stokes has been a specialist batter for the last eight months and had surgery in November to remove a bone spur and reinforce his meniscus with stitches to try to resolve a longstanding left knee issue.
Stokes had made a “pinky promise” with England’s physiotherapist Ben Davies not to bowl on this tour but he has progressed well enough in his recovery and been operating at full tilt in practice recently.
Having teased the possibility of resuming his all-rounder status in recent weeks, the England captain broke his vow to Davies and showed he was worth the wait but barely acknowledged his breakthrough.
“We all know how we can round our attack out, especially in conditions like these where you’ve usually got two spinners, two seamers and then you want your third in Stokesy,” said Patel.
“It was nice to see him back at the crease but we’ve just got to be careful we don’t push him too far, it’s still early days. It’s exciting to see him support the bowlers on a day where it’s a hard slog.”
England’s hopes of a consolation win to end the series with a 3-2 loss steadily slipped away on Friday, with the efforts of Rohit and Gill added to by debutant Devdutt Padikkal (65) and Sarfaraz Khan (56).
All of India’s top five made fifty-plus scores but they lurched from 376 for three to 428 for eight as Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley made inroads, plugging away despite toiling for much of the day.
Off-spinner Bashir was tireless and claimed 44-5-170-4, while slow left-armer Hartley was similarly resolute and snared Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the same over in his 39-3-126-2.
The pair’s prospects of game time for their counties this summer are uncertain, with Bashir behind Jack Leach in the Somerset pecking order, while Hartley’s Lancashire have signed Nathan Lyon.
“My work continues when they are not with England,” said former New Zealand off-spinner Patel. “I am not the sort of bloke who is going to leave them in the lurch.
“It’s probably too far away to talk about it. But it would be nice to see these guys get more opportunities to bowl, get more overs in them, because they obviously have something to offer.”
Cricket West Indies to reveal squad for ICC T20 World Cup Friday, May 3
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is gearing up to unveil its squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup during a highly anticipated live press conference in Barbados on Friday, May 3. The event will feature CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes, and Head Coach Daren Sammy alongside CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave.
In a statement, Johnny Grave expressed the organization's excitement about the impending announcement and highlighted the decision to host a live press conference as a means to directly engage with fans and media.
"Emphasizing the significance of this moment, we chose to host a live press conference to engage with fans and media directly. We also requested permission from the ICC to align our announcement with this event," said Johnny Grave.
The announcement comes amidst increasing excitement as local box offices across the region open on Thursday, May 2, allowing fans to secure their tickets for the tournament. Additionally, CWI will be releasing the official tournament song on the same day, further adding to the anticipation building around the event.
"Excitement is mounting as local box offices open across the region on Thursday, May 2, and we are equally thrilled to release the official tournament song on the same day. Anticipation is building, and we can't wait to share this journey with cricket enthusiasts worldwide," Grave added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to commence on June 1, will be co-hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, culminating with the finals scheduled to take place in Barbados. With preparations in full swing, CWI's squad announcement promises to be a significant moment in the lead-up to this highly anticipated global cricketing event. Stay tuned for the unveiling of the squad and the exciting journey ahead for Cricket West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup.
IPL: Punjab Kings spinners frustrate CSK in routine win
Punjab Kings eased to back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, their spinners doing the damage as they claimed a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings chased down an IPL-record of 262 with eight balls to spare to beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, but they didn't need anywhere near that level of big hitting to clinch their first set of consecutive victories this year.
Spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar made it a far more comfortable outing for Punjab, finishing with two wickets apiece and giving up just 33 runs between them through eight overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad did his best to keep CSK in it with his 62 off 48 balls, but they always looked unlikely to defend a middling score of 162, particularly when Deepak Chahar pulled up two deliveries into the Punjab innings and walked gingerly from the field.
Richard Gleeson dismissed Prabhsimran Singh for 13 on his IPL debut, but that was as good as it got for Chennai as Jonny Bairstow (46 off 30) and Rilee Rossouw (43 off 25) steadily ate away at their score.
The Super Kings' outing was summed up by Sam Curran's wayward drive spinning away from Shivam Dube at the boundary for a four late on, and Punjab wrapped up their most comfortable win of the season with 13 balls to spare.
Data Debrief: Kings maintain Chennai hoodoo
The Kings' upturn may have come a little too late to give them a genuine shot at the play-offs, but for Chennai, it was a case of more frustration against their bogey team.
Punjab have now won their last five matches against the Super Kings, who have seen their title defence stall with a run of three defeats in four outings.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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