Former opening batsman for the India national cricket team, Aakash Chopra, has showered praise on the England cricket team captain Ben Stokes for his remarkable batting show in the second Ashes Test 2023 against the Australia National Cricket Team at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
England captain Stokes delivered an impressive strike in the final innings of the Lord’s Test. He started cautiously and was well supported by Ben Duckett. After losing Duckett and Jonny Bairstow, Stokes unleashed his aggressive avatar and smashed Australian bowlers all over the park.
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However, Stokes was unable to repeat his 2019 Headingley exploits as he was cleaned up by leading pacer Josh Hazlewood. He scored 155 runs from 214 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes. After his ouster, England lost consecutive wickets and lost the game by 43 runs.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra praised Stokes for his excellent punching under pressure. He elaborated:
“Ben Stokes is to be commended, the kind of shots he has landed under pressure at the Ashes or the World Cup final. The time comes, the man comes, that’s Ben Stokes.
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“Nine fielders were deep and yet, what Ben Stokes does, only Ben Stokes does. The ashes were turning absolutely cold until now. He was fine as a captain, but as a batsman and bowler, a great name, but the performances from him weren’t that great so far”.
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Aakash Chopra compares Ben Stokes to Garfield Sobers
Aakash Chopra further said that Ben Stokes’ heroism under pressure at Lord’s is the reason modern day heavy hitter Virat Kohli calls him the “most competitive guy”.
Chopra, very impressed with Stokes, compared the England captain to the legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers. He elaborated:
“Virat Kohli also said that he is the most competitive cricketer he has ever come across and that is why. There is no doubt that he is a big game player. He elevates his game to a different level.”
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“There are some players that you look at like that. I remember something about Sir Gary Sobers. It used to be said of him that when his team was 300/4 or 300/5, he didn’t usually score runs, which isn’t challenging enough. As soon as they were 105/5 or 70/6 Sir Garry used to hit a lot. Something similar seems to be in the case of Stokes. I remember the Leeds match, this Lord’s match.”
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