Former England captain Eoin Morgan was amazed by Ben Stokes’ captaincy during Day 3 of the second Test against India. He praised the all-rounder for the dismissal of Shubman Gill and pointed out how the batsman fell into the trap.
Ben Stokes as captain was sensational on day 3 of the ongoing game. The all-rounder was correct in his placements on the field. One of the highlights of his sensational outing was when he set the trap for Shubman Gill and forced the batsman to do something different, resulting in his downfall.
Shubman Gill played a glorious innings for the team and led the team’s charge, bailing them out of trouble. He returned to form and scored a sensational century that helped the team take a huge lead of 398 runs on the board.
Shubman Gill hit a sensational ton before Shoaib Bashir caught him at LBW. It was purely a result of field placements. England captain Ben Stokes opened the field, leaving the offside pitch empty.
This led to Shubman Gill performing the reverse sweep, but the ball took off and was caught by Ben Foakes. The on-field umpire did not reveal it. England had a review and had their man. This caused many to applaud Ben Stokes for his heroism.
Even Eoin Morgan was amazed and said it was a wicket created by Ben Stokes. He pointed out how the England captain imposed the change in the shot and made the batsman fall into the trap. Speaking on air during day 3 of the match, he explained:
“A wicket created exclusively by Ben Stokes. Numerous changes on the field. The field stacked next to the legs imposes the change of shot, the change of mentality of Shubman Gill [who has] He already played incredibly well. Stokes knows it. England knows it. He has fallen into the trap.”
Ravi Shastri, who was doing commentary with Eoin Morgan, also admitted that Ben Stokes made Shubman Gill think differently. He stated: “Yes, they made him think differently. His strength is using his feet, hitting the ground.”
It’s a huge, huge skill, and sometimes it’s hard to come to grips with – Eoin Morgan on Ben Stokes
Eoin Morgan also lavished high praise on Ben Stokes for his captaincy, saying he was like a fisherman setting a lure without a rod. He further added that MS Dhoni used to do the same for India and it is like playing on the ego of the batsmen. He added:
“Certainly on numerous occasions Ben Stokes has implemented changes on the pitches. Almost like a fisherman: placing the lure, without the need for a rod. The fish has jumped onto the boat.
“We have seen it for many, many years in India: MS Dhoni, doing exactly the same thing, recognizing opportunities when there is nothing to offer. Playing on the ego of the batsmen in many ways. Almost creating something out of nothing. “It’s a huge, huge skill, and sometimes it’s hard to deal with.”
Shubman Gill finished with 104 runs off 147 balls. The batsman hit 11 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. At stumps on Day 3, the visitors were 67 for one and are still 332 runs behind.
