Ben Stokes: From ‘convict’ of defeat to Alexander of England’s victory
“We can’t go ahead with the burden in the tournament. Good teams forget old failures and move on to new challenges.”
Ben Stokes (52 not out and one wicket), who stood as a wall between Pakistan and the trophy in the Twenty20 World Cup final, said this while remembering Ireland’s defeat to England in the tournament.
This was such a turnaround in a rain-drenched match, after which the stories of the downfall of the England team were written.
But the English team, which suffered a five-run defeat against Ireland, did not look back after that match on 26 October and won the World Cup by beating New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and finally Pakistan at Melbourne on Sunday. Stokes was reminding the same story.
After the victory over Pakistan, World Cup captain Jos Buttler was handed over. Sam Curran was selected in the final, but many people considered Ben Stokes to be the biggest hero of the match.
Sam Curran also said, “The kind of game that Ben Stokes showed.. (after that) … I don’t think I should have got this (man of the match).”
Cricket critic Ayaz Memon, after watching the final, asked all the top cricketers of today’s era to clear the way for Ben Stokes.
Ayaz Memon wrote on Twitter, “Let everyone else go back. Ben Stokes is the best cricketer in the world!”
Another cricket critic Harsha Bhogle’s opinion is no different.
After the final match, Harsha Bhogle asked on Twitter, “Is there a better player than Ben Stokes under pressure in world cricket.”
There is victory only after defeat… The fans were well on Stokes. He was in the top trend of Twitter. It was not just the matter in the craze seen about Stokes that he was adamant to win England in the final.
It was a quality that Stokes himself mentioned when it came to England’s defeat against Ireland.
Stokes’ success story is not straightforward. In 2016, the West Indies team snatched the Twenty20 World Cup from his hands.
In that final match played at the Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata, West Indies needed 19 runs to win in the last over. West Indies had lost six wickets. All the top batsmen were out except Morlon Samuels.
England had the upper hand. Eoin Morgan, then the captain of England, gave the responsibility of bowling the last over to Ben Stokes.
Carlos Brathwaite of West Indies hit six sixes in the first four balls of Stokes’ over and put the World Cup in his team’s bag.
Stokes, immersed in tears, sat down holding his head on the pitch. That picture of him was repeatedly shared on social media even on Sunday.
Twist in Stokes’ story
Many people then called him the ‘biggest culprit of England’s defeat’.
By his very definition, Stokes knows that not only the best team, but also the best player ‘doesn’t carry a burden’.
Perhaps that is why he left behind the sorrow of defeat, the teas of losing the World Cup and the failure of four balls while leaving the Eden Gardens ground. He did not go ahead carrying the ‘phantom of defeat’ on his shoulder.
It was Stokes who became the wall in the 2019 ODI World Cup final against New Zealand. Tie the match after scoring an unbeaten 84. Then the Super Over was also tied, then the decision of the match went in England’s favor only because of the fours and sixes hit by Stokes.
But that was about ODIs. In the World Cup of the Twenty20 format, the team’s debt was left, he took it off in the match against Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday.
small goal big challenge Pakistan had presented a challenge of only 138 runs for the victory in front of England. This small-looking target started looking big when England lost the first wicket for seven runs and the second for 32 runs.
The batsmen to be dismissed were Alex Hales and Phil Salt, who were the heroes of the semi-final victory against India.
Ben Stokes had to come to the field to bat in the fourth over. Stokes had just opened the account that Captain Butler also returned to the pavilion. This was the sixth over. Now the score is 45 runs for three wickets.
The bowlers of Pakistan started spewing sholay with the ball. The agility of the fielders had suddenly increased and victory seemed far away.
England spinner Adil Rashid, who bowled brilliantly in the match, recalled the occasion and said, “We were nervous at the time of the run chase.”
The match had turned thorny and on the double bounce pitch, the Pakistan team started making an intention to repeat the charisma of 1992.
Stokes’ amazing innings
But, Stokes was not ready to loosen the grip this time. He added 39 runs off 42 balls for the fourth wicket with Harry Brooke. The pace of scoring in this partnership was slow but Stokes kept England on the winning path.
When Brook was out in the 13th over, England’s score was 84 runs. Still victory was 54 runs away and Pakistan players were fighting for every single run.
Meanwhile, luck favored Stokes. In the 14th over, Haris Rauf could not take the opportunity to get him out. He was on 20 then.
Stokes did not give any chance to Pakistan after this. After that he changed gear. Pakistan’s top bowler Rauf hit a four.
In the 16th over, Shaheen Shah Afridi went off the field with an injury and Stokes increased the pressure on Pakistan on the same occasion. Iftikhar Ahmed, who was bowling the rest of Afridi’s over, hit a four and a six in two consecutive deliveries.
This also boosted Moeen Ali’s enthusiasm and he scored three fours in Mohammad Wasim’s over. Moeen did not stay on the wicket for long after this, but by then Stokes had tilted the match towards England.
In the 19th over, Stokes completed the half-century by hitting a four on Mohammad Wasim. This is his first half century in Twenty20 format. That too came at a time that was most important for the team.
Taking another run off the next ball, he made England the sinker of the Twenty20 format.
Captain Jos Buttler praised Stokes’ performance. Buttler said, “He (Stokes) is a great batsman. He (Stokes) in whatever he does. He has a lot of experience. He carried his innings in the best way. He along with Moeen snatched the match from Pakistan. took.”
completed story
Fans and critics were in awe of his performance but Stokes kept on refraining from taking credit for the win.
He said, “In the final where you are chasing, you forget the hard work you put in earlier. Credit should be given to the bowlers for stopping them (Pakistan) for 137 runs.”
For England, Sam Curran took three wickets for just 12 runs and Adil Rashid took two wickets for just 22 runs.
The best player Sam Curran was also seen by those who chose Man of the Match, but for Sam, the hero of the match was Ben Stokes.
The hero for those fans and critics was Stokes who saw him cry after losing the Cup in 2016 and complete that unfinished story by snatching the match from Pakistan on Sunday night.
