A dejected England skipper Ben Stokes admitted that two key passages of play proved costly as his side crashed to a heavy 337-run defeat against India in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday. India, chasing their first-ever Test win at the venue, bundled England out for 271 on the final day to level the five-match series 1-1.Reflecting on the loss, Stokes pointed to England’s failure to capitalise when India were 200 for 5 in their first innings, and their own collapse to 80 for 5 in response.“Tough one. Two moments. Having them at 200/5 and not being able to burst them open. And then being 80/5 — it was always going to be tough to scrape it back from there,” Stokes said after the match.“As it got deeper, the wicket didn’t play the way we expected. It probably suited India more. We tried everything, changed plans, but when a team is on top of you, it’s hard to wrestle it back,” he added.Stokes praised Indian skipper Shubman Gill, who followed up his double century with a rapid 161 in the second innings to help set a monumental 608-run target.“Shubman had an unbelievable game with the bat,” Stokes said.He also lauded young wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who top-scored for England in the second innings with a fighting 88.
“Jamie has been incredible since he came into the team. Goes massively under the radar with his keeping, which is what you want from a keeper.”India’s win was powered by pacer Akash Deep, who returned figures of 6/99 to claim his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket. His double strike in the rain-hit morning session and the dismissal of Smith after lunch broke England’s resistance. He wrapped up the match by removing Brydon Carse to trigger celebrations for a long-awaited Edgbaston win.The series now moves to Lord’s, with the third Test starting on July 10.
