Ben Stokes the hero as England beat India by 31 runs in thrilling first Test

Winner: Ben Stokes
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Will Macpherson4 August 2018

On the final day at Edgbaston, England arrived needing five wickets, and India were after 84 runs. It was England who prevailed, by 31 runs in an extraordinary Test, their 1,000th, that has lit the fuse for this to be a quite thrilling series.

Ben Stokes, who is highly unlikely to play in the Second Test at Lord’s on Thursday because he stands trial in Bristol, was England’s last day hero, entering the attack with the requirement down to just 53. He dismissed Virat Kohli lbw – no mean feat – for 51 which took him to exactly 200 for the match, then Mohammad Shami, caught behind.

Stokes, naturally, took the winning wicket, his fourth of the innings and sixth of the match. Speaking to Sky on the outfield afterwards, he looked visibly drained, having given everything he had.

When Stokes came on, India were favourites. A flurry of boundaries had ended the spells of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, who had dismissed Dinesh Karthik in the day’s first over.

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That the catch was taken at second slip by Dawid Malan, who had dropped three there this game (including Kohli twice), meant it was celebrated even more vigorously. When it really, really mattered, England did not miss a chance.

This was one of those days that just kept wriggling and the outcome, a great England win, was only really certain when Pandya edged Stokes to first slip, where Alastair Cook took a sharp catch, as he had not been able to in the first innings.

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Even after Anderson’s first over wicket, even after Ben Stokes’ Kohli-conquering double-wicket maiden, even after Adil Rashid took the ninth wicket with 40 still required, there was still uncertainty.

He was picked, rightly or wrongly, to bowl at the tail, and this was the second time his googly had done for Ishant Sharma, who was fined 15% of his match fee for an over-zealous celebration yesterday, in the match. That ninth wicket required a review, but was totally plumb.

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Kohli had been superb, and Pandya raged against the dying of the light. England tried to usher him off strike, and he struck some handy blows, but just had too much to do, with 40 still required when Rashid struck in the over after drinks.

The wicket of Pandya meant Stokes finished match figures of six for 114 in a great team bowling performance that stood in a contrast to a rather stuttering batting effort.The point of unity was Sam Curran, who only bowled one over today, but picked up five wickets and scored a match turning maiden half-century that earned him the man of the match award ahead of Kohli.

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Anderson deserved more than the two wickets he took in each innings, Rashid did his job, while Broad started the second innings defence of 194 by dismissing both openers.

England will badly miss Stokes at Lord’s, and require a reshuffle to cover him. His bowling is actually a greater miss than his batting from No6, because he turned the game their way twice, both on the second and fourth days.

He simply makes things happen, and England will desperately hope he is available to play some part in a series that promises so much.

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