ENG vs IND 2025: Ben Stokes proves at Lord’s why he’s built different – A true game-changer and clutch leader.
There is a very thin line between being a clutch player and a good player. The clutch player always stand up and shoulder the entire responsibility of the team when it matters the most. England perhaps didn’t have a captain like Ben Stokes, irrespective of the results. He is the one who just can’t accept losing or can’t tolerate his side going through a struggling week.
It’s incredible how Stokes has the tremendous ability to drag the game back in their court from any situation. An average of 35.15 with the bat for 6891 runs in 114 Tests along with 224 wickets at 32.02 can be regular numbers for an all-rounder.
But the 34-year-old is different. His best performances have always come when England have been under pressure. There is a genuine reason why the supporters of the Three Lions compare him with Andrew Flintoff and Ian Botham, two of England’s greatest ever players.
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Ben Stokes finds the best moment to deliver for England
It’s incredible how these clutch players always find the right moment to deliver for the side. Last week at Lord’s was a special occasion. The series was leveled at 1-1. Jofra Archer was making a comeback for the home side after four years. Under Shubman Gill, the young Indian side looked fearless in their approach during the second Edgbaston Test.
The stage was set for Stokes to show his relentless energy. England’s 22-run victory was built on their captain’s performance in all four departments. He wasn’t joking when he spoke about ‘lying on the bed for the next four days before Manchester.’ The veteran looked exhausted when the camera found him going up the stairs to the dressing room after the win.
That was expected after he carried the biggest chunk of the team’s authority at Lord’s. It was Stokes who stayed with Joe Root for the 88-run stand for the fifth wicket and helped them to reach a good score in the first innings. It was the Durham all-rounder who pulled off a brilliant run-out of Rishabh Pant to snatch the visitors’ control of the game.
Some players lift themselves at key moments, they wade into situations and want to be in the thick of it all. Nobody symbolises that more than @benstokes38.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 14, 2025
It was the 34-year-old, who put up another 67-run stand with Root to extend the second innings for the home side. It was the Canterbury-born who picked up the key wickets on the fourth evening of the contest. And it was Stokes again who broke Jasprit Bumrah’s resistance on the fifth afternoon session.
There were several periods of the game when England were at their worst. But their fight means they have won two games where they could have been well-beaten. They just didn’t left the game drift from their hands.
Stokes’ bowling was exceptional. To continue hitting at around 90mph at an age of 34, along with all the injuries he had in his life, is just unbelievable. The movement of the ball, wide of the crease plans, relentless lengths, balls from different angles made it hard for the batters.
Everyone remembers his 135* at Leeds during the Ashes 2019. But very few can recall his firing second innings spell of 3/56 in the same game to put Australia on the back foot.
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Ben Stokes’ brilliance in four departments blew away India at Lord’s
Stokes’ leadership at Lord’s was beyond belief. When Ravindra Jadeja started to smash the bowlers just after tea, he opened the field immediately. That pushed the Saurashtra all-rounder to be defensive in his approach straightaway. Even the field he set was terrific given that most of the balls were going into the hands of the fielders.
As an England captain, his biggest role of the week was handling Archer. It’s not easy to use the premier pacer properly and still avoid him pushing an extra yard after such a long injury layoff. Most captains would have brought Brydon Carse on the fifth morning after his impressive spell on the fourth evening. But Stokes was different. He recognized how to get the Barbados-born into the contest. And he got the rewards with key wickets of Pant and Washington Sundar.
Ben Stokes bowled an 9.2 over spell on Day 5 of a Test match — pure grit. He’s not just a 4D player, he’s the heart of this England team. Giving it everything.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 14, 2025
His delivery to dismiss KL Rahul was a special one. It was a massive nip backer while the opener expected an out swinger. The ball cut back and pinned the Karnataka batter dead in front of the middle stump of the front pad. Even the ball he produced for Akash Deep was a tough delivery. It came angled in from the fullish length and held its line to beat the outside edge and crashed onto the off-stump.
Since the start of 2022, Ben Stokes averages 33.21 with the bat for his 2159 runs in 69 innings. In the bowling department, he has picked up 57 wickets in this period at an average of 31.73. None of these are crazy numbers. But the bottom line is simple. He delivered when it mattered the most for England.
The home side has already taken a 2-1 lead in the series. For India, the fourth encounter at Old Trafford will be a do-or-die contest. But they have a massive headache called Ben Stokes, who has woken up. And he will continue to be lethal. After all, he is not just a leader but a clutch player made of a different mettle.
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