• Source:JND
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India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team: Another Lord's Test which produced a scintillating contest between the two sides competing against one another. As far as fans can remember - test matches at the iconic venue have hardly been dead-rubber or one sided between India and England. The only exception being the 2018 test where India lost by an innings and 159 runs against an English side which boasted the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and 'Ben Stokes' whose peak had just started.

The recently concluded contest between the two sides resulted in a massive heartbreak for the visitors as they were just 22 runs short of being 2-1 in the five-match series. Apart from many match-ups like Jasprit Bumrah vs Joe Root and Rishabh Pant vs Ben Stokes, the one namely Ben Stokes vs Ravindra Jadeja took the cake.

An Indirect Match-Up

Both Stokes and Jadeja have been touted as the most reliable all-rounders for their sides in the current era. Their numbers in both departments speaks volumes of how well they have performed over the years. Fans of these contemporaries have often compared their impact to find out who is a better all-rounder than the other. The recent Lord's test does not prove anything either, however, it was not enough to find out that Stokes overcame his limitation better than Jadeja did.

Stokes 'Marathon' Yields Gold For England

Stokes bowled two marathon spells on day five, completely changing the talk around 'workload management'.

The 34-year-old all-rounder is someone who had to struggle with injuries throughout his career. Even most recently, he underwent a surgery following a hamstring tear in January. At times, Stokes was spotted 'limping' during his batting but did not let it come in the way of his bowling. His superlative spell on Day 5 had everything - speed, precision and control. The way he dismissed KL Rahul was a prime example of how well he bowled with a ball that has been getting 'soft' too early.

Former pacer Irfan Pathan, cited Stokes as an example while stating that the term "workload management" is overrated at times.

"Ben Stokes bowled a marathon 9.2 over spell in the morning on day five. What a player he is. He bowls, bats and executes a crucial run out of Rishabh Pant but there is no talk of workload management. But with India it is not like that.

"Bumrah bowls five overs and waits for Joe Root to come out to bat when you need to control the game (in the second innings). It was disappointing.

"His workload was managed having not played at Edgbaston. When you play a match, there is no workload. You have to win at all costs. The Indian camp could have done that better," said Pathan on his Youtube channel.

Pathan also had admiration for Archer, who was making his first Test appearance since 2021.

"Archer was playing a Test match after four years but he did not stop. He bowled a six-over spell in the morning before returning to bowl again. Ben Stokes did not think about workload at all, if he can bowl nine overs, hum toh peeche rah gaye (Indian pacers were left behind)," he said.

Ravindra Jadeja's Patience 'Limited' Him?

The 37-year-old all-rounder received appreciation from Cricket fans for his 'ever-lasting' perseverance which made him bat for a long time that eventually kept India in the game. However, Jadeja being unable to get the scorecard moving a bit quicker did berate India's chances to win the thriller. Nobody wanted him to go berserk against English bowlers who bowled exceptionally on a Day 5 track, however, 1.67 runs per over in the post-lunch session did not bother England much.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was also part of the commentary panel, felt Jadeja could have taken the odd chance.

"A partnership of 60-70 would have made a difference. India never got that. You could say that Jadeja could have taken the odd chance and not necessarily the aerial route when Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir was bowling. But full marks to him (Jadeja)," Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.

One can also argue that Jadeja is capable enough but batted according to the situation. However, that required 'risk' which Jadeja was not willing to take but Stokes as he put his 'body on the line' to take  his team over the line.

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