Manchester, July 26 (IANS) Ben Stokes produced an all-round performance for the ages at Old Trafford, Manchester, becoming only the third all-rounder in Test history – after Sir Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis – to achieve the double of 7,000 runs and 200 wickets.
England captain reached the milestone in signature fashion, launching a splendid six early on Day 4, before crafting a gritty 141 that ended his two-year wait for a Test century, his last coming during the Ashes in July 2023.
Battling cramps on day 3, the 34-year-old briefly left the field but returned after Jamie Smith’s dismissal to finish with a flourish, scoring his last 41 runs off just 34 balls with three towering sixes. As he walked off, the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation.
Stokes’ knock, along with Joe Root’s majestic 150 and fifties from openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, powered England to a monumental 669 all out – their fifth-highest total in Tests and the second-highest against India after their 710/7 declared in Birmingham in 2011.
This was also England’s highest innings total ever recorded at Old Trafford, surpassing the previous record of 627/9 declared against Australia in 1934.
The innings spanned 157 overs, leaving India’s bowlers exhausted, with Jasprit Bumrah sending down 33 overs – his second-most in a single innings. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers with 4/143 while Mohammed Siraj’s sharp catch to dismiss Brydon Carse for 47 finally ended the onslaught.
Day 3 was rich with milestones for England. Joe Root climbed to second on the all-time Test run-scorers list, surpassing Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Ricky Ponting (13,378). With 13,409 runs, he now trails only Sachin Tendulkar’s monumental record of 15,921 runs.
–IANS
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