Post defeating Pakistan in the 2nd Test match, England captain Ben Stokes praises the bowlers and says he feels fantastic to be a part of both games.
Ben Stokes on 2nd Test Against Pakistan
The second match of the series has been considered the decider of the 3-match Test series and Pakistan was in need of registering a victory in order to stay alive in the series.
Winning the toss, England decides to bat first and scored just 281 runs after losing all 10 wickets which is not even half of England’s 1st test 1st inning score. But England’s aggressive bowling unit sacked Pakistan batters for 202 runs and made a 79 runs lead ahead of the 2nd innings.
With Harry Brook’s century, England scored 275 runs in the second innings while Pakistan were in need of 354 runs to win the 2nd Test match. Pakistan top order batters apart from Babar Azam scored a handful of runs and made 210 runs for 5 wickets loss.
𝐈𝐟 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨 🎨🖌️
Start your Monday with @jimmy9‘s peach of a delivery that knocked off Rizwan’s off stump 🤯#PAKvENG #SonySportsNetwork #JamesAnderson pic.twitter.com/G3iowm4awO
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) December 12, 2022
But England’s bowling unit made a strong comeback by cornering Pakistan’s batters which eventually led Pakistan to end the inning with 328 runs. England won the 2nd Test match and seals the series by beating Pakistan by 26 runs.
During the post-match presentation, England captain Ben Stokes said: “Obviously different conditions and differently played games but fantastic to be a part of both the games. We had a look at the wicket and it was tricky against slow bowling, but as the game progressed the cracks opened up and our seamers came into the game”.
“The way in which Jimmy and Robbo bowled in the series and our spinners as well, they are going to deliver more often that not (referring to him not bowling). Amazing debut for Abrar and many congratulations to him”.
“He took 7 wickets but we were still scoring runs against him. I just look around and look at my options and see who gives me the best opportunity to pick wickets”, he added.
With the series defeat, the Pakistan cricket team are now out for the WTC 2023 Final spot race. With the Pakistan Test series victory, England registered their 8th win in Test cricket out of the last 9 series since McCullum and Stokes took over the England Test responsibilities.
