2024-02-28 19:17:56
Ranchi: England captain Ben Stokes said that they did not even have a chance to compete with India in the current Test series but despite this they gave a tough challenge to the hosts and hence he is proud of his players. India defeated England by 5 wickets in the fourth Test match and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
England has lost a series for the first time since Stokes became the captain and Brendon McCullum became the head coach. Stokes told the British media, ‘3-1 does not feel good but I am proud of the way we gave a tough challenge to India.’ He said, ‘We didn’t even have a chance to compete with India but even today (Monday) we did not let India win easily and I think they will accept that.’
England had made a good comeback at one point in the fourth Test match. While chasing the target of 192 runs on the fourth day, India’s score at one time was 120 runs for five wickets. After this, Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel made an unbroken partnership of 72 runs to take India to the target. Stokes said, ‘This young and less experienced team has been successful for the last two years, but coming to India is completely different which this team has not experienced yet.’
He said, ‘I am really proud of the way we responded strongly to every challenge they faced even though we had to face defeat. I am proud of the way each of our players did not give up till the end. No player backed down at any time.