England skipper Ben Stokes made a crucial 93-run contribution to his team’s triumphant performance in the third Ashes Test against Australia. The nail-biting contest in Headingley ended in England’s favour, with the hosts finally being able to open their account in the 5-match series.
Given a target of 251 runs to win the match, England got over the line with three wickets in hand. In the process, England skipper Stokes shattered a huge record that was held by former India captain MS Dhoni. The victory in the third Ashes Test was England’s 5th under the captaincy of Stokes while chasing a target of over 250 runs in Tests. The previous record was held by Dhoni who had led India to 4 victories while chasing a target of over 250 runs in Tests. Stokes, speaking of his team’s Headingley show, Stokes admitted being happy to finally get over the line in another close match. “Another down-to-the-wire game. Nice to get over the line and keep our hopes alive. Won the toss, we could have batted and bowled. Looked a good wicket. Saw the way Mitch Marsh batted. Came in and took the game on. The outfield was on the quick side. We had Woody and Woakesy back in and they did well. “We picked teams and look how they can impact us in the game.
We try to see how they can be influential in the game. I didn’t realise that Woakes hasn’t played a Test for so long, he is Mr. Consistent. Having someone who can bat like him batting at 8 helps us. Hope he can do something similar when he plays next,” he said after the match.
Most wins as a captain with 250-plus run-chases in Tests:
5 – Ben Stokes, 4 – MS Dhoni, 3 – Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting .
