It was a neck-and-neck battle between India and England during the third Test at Lord's, London. While both the sides posted 387 all out in their first innings, England set a target of 193 runs for the visitors. Chasing it, India were bundled out for 170, thus losing the game by 22 runs. Mohammed Siraj was the last wicket to fall. Former India player Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that his father believed that Siraj would hit three sixes to finish the game.
"Ben Stokes bowled an unbelievable spell. I was discussing this with my father. He was assured that Siraj would finish it by smashing three sixes. I was asking him to cut down the jokes. Looking at Ben Stokes, he started talking about a bowler from his league games, who used to bowl from both ends," said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
"In both spells of 9.2 and 10 overs, he was bowling at 132-140 kph. At one end, you had Jadeja, standing like a fortress, stitching India's resistance and on the other, you had Stokes doing the same for England," Ashwin added.
Stokes scored 44 and 33 with the bat but it was his bowling that impressed one and all. The right-arm pacer picked five wickets in the game but his bowling was much more than the stats, especially during the final innings of the match.
During India's chase of 193, Stokes bowled two spells of 9.2 and 10 overs, playing a crucial role in keeping the visitors under pressure with tight bowling and timely strikes.
Ashwin also praised the gesture of England's Joe Root and Zak Crawley both of who consoled Siraj at the end of the match. Siraj had an unfortunate dismissal while India needed just 23 runs to win.
On the 30th ball that Siraj faced in his innings, the ball was defended on the front but it hit the rough and rolled back towards the stumps to end his knock.
"What a battle. It was an amazing Test match. It was a battle among equals. Both teams were challenging each other to the limits and it ended at this moment. Look at how Crawley and Root are consoling Siraj with an arm around him. The beauty of this Test match was that every player was at loggerheads with each other. It was theatrical," Ashwin said.