Ben Stokes urged England not to go into a “downhill spiral” after the most chastening defeat of his captaincy.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s second successive double century helped India set a mammoth 557 target on the fourth afternoon of the third Test in Rajkot before England capitulated to 122 all out to lose by 434 runs.
As India celebrated going 2-1 up in the five-match series, which resumes in Ranchi on Friday, Stokes demanded England pick themselves up quickly after their heaviest defeat in terms of runs since 1934.
Despite admitting England came off second best in his 100th Test, Stokes believes poor implementation – rather than the attacking methods they have fostered in the last couple of years – was to blame.
He said: “We were outplayed. Did we go into our shells a little bit because of the situation? That’s not what we do. I don’t think we need to temper anything, we need to look at our execution this week.
“Losing games for England isn’t where you want to be but games are won or lost in the head. You’ve got to learn from disappointment but use it in a positive way, not let it eat you.
“I know that thinking too deep into certain things can send you on a downhill spiral. It’s about what we do the next two games.
“I just make sure all the emotion, all the disappointment there would be in that dressing room, make sure it stays there. We’ve got two games left and all I’m thinking about is winning this series 3-2.”
Joe Root is yet to reach 30 in six attempts and perished in the first innings to his specialised reverse ramp, which drew criticism from ex-England batters Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan.
Root’s dismissal led to England collapsing from 224 for two to 319 all out and conceding a first-innings deficit of 126, which ultimately proved a major moment in the Test.
Stokes said: “Because he got out to it, it definitely was a turning point. I can understand why there would be frustration around that because of how good a player Joe is.
“It’s not a shot you necessarily see Test match players playing. But who am I to question a guy who has 30 Test match hundreds and nearly 12,000 Test match runs? I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Ahead of this Test, Stokes revealed he had made a “pinky promise” with England’s physiotherapist that he would not bowl on this tour following surgery on a longstanding knee injury in November.
He has not bowled competitively since the Lord’s Ashes Test in early July but he has been stepping up his recovery and has not ruled out the prospect of sending down a few overs at some point in India.
Stokes added: “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no. I have progressed a lot faster than I thought I would. Me being me I’m always very optimistic about most things.
“That will be a more detailed chat with the medical team about what workload I have done to pass me off as not being a massive risk.
“I managed to bowl at 100 per cent in one of the warm up days here which made me feel pretty good.
“I felt like I could have bowled in the game but that would have been stupid. It’s a work in progress, I have a lot of workload to put through the rest of my body.”
While Ravindra Jadeja’s five for 41 helped bowl England out in 39.4 overs, Jaiswal amassed a stunning 214 not out as India racked up 430 for four before Rohit Sharma called him and Sarfaraz Khan in.
It was the first time a team had declared against England in the Bazball era and lent further credence to India having the next superstar on their hands.
Stokes added: “If I said I didn’t think it was any good that would be a rogue thing – he’s a great player to watch, I enjoy watching good players play, even when it’s against me. He’s very special.”
West Indies in control as Bangladesh battle to avoid follow-on
West Indies will take a 181-run lead heading into day four of their opening Test against Bangladesh.
Having dominated day two, West Indies turned in another excellent display on Sunday to further gain control of the match.
After resuming on 40-2, Bangladesh saw Shahadat Hossain fall to Kemar Roach (1-30), but Mominul Haque did reach 50 before he was pinned lbw by Jayden Seales (2-42).
Shamar Joseph dismissed Litton Das (40) soon after as the Windies bowlers stepped into their rhythm, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (23) was soon sent packing by Alzarri Joseph, who grabbed his second wicket when he bowled Taijul Islam (18).
However, that wicket came after Taijul had combined with Jaker Ali (53) to offer some resistance and ensured the tourists avoided the follow-on.
Jaker was caught by Seales when attempting to slog Justin Greaves (2-34), with Taskin Ahmed (11 not out) and Shoriful Islam (five not out) guiding Bangladesh to 269-9 at stumps, chasing West Indies' first-innings total of 450.
Data Debrief: Bravery needed for Bangladesh
It is all about hanging on now for Bangladesh, who have to somehow see out the next two days if they are to avoid a fifth straight Test defeat.
West Indies, meanwhile, look all set to make it five Tests unbeaten at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, where Bangladesh are out to avoid a third loss.
Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh
Justin Greaves hit an unbeaten century – his first red-ball ton – as West Indies ended day two of their first Test against Bangladesh with a commanding 410-run lead.
Greaves resumed alongside Joshua Da Silva with West Indies 250-5 after day one in Antigua, eventually slamming 115 runs off 206 balls faced as the hosts established a dominant position.
His steady knock ensured the Windies recovered nicely after slipping to 261-7 early on, while Kemar Roach hit a career-best 47 through four defiant hours at the crease.
Hasan Mahmud took three day-two wickets for Bangladesh, including that of Roach, as his short delivery angled in to clip the top of middle stump.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite declared to put Bangladesh at the crease late on, and there was no respite for the tourists against the hosts' four-man pace attack.
Zakir Hasan fell to Jayden Seales for 15, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for five shortly after being dropped, leaving Bangladesh 40-2 at stumps.
Data Debrief: Career-best for Greaves
Greaves' unbeaten 115 marked his first century in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best knock – a score of 33 versus Australia in January – by some distance.
His strike rate of 55.83 on Saturday, while steady, also bettered his effort of 55.00 during that match in Brisbane. Thanks to his efforts, Bangladesh have a real mountain to climb on day three.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
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