'Opinions in the dressing room are the ones that matter to us': Ben Stokes hits back at Bazball's critics after record defeat in Rajkot Test

The Ben Stokes-led England has led teams to believe that no target is big enough for them with their actions both on the field and off it. England opener Ben Duckett was of similar opinion after Day 3’s play but the visitors looked timid in their approach when India set a 557-run target on Day 4. England suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for 122, suffering their second-biggest defeat by runs in Test cricket history. While many criticised their approach, especially Joe Root’s audacious reverse-scoop off Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings, Stokes remained unperturbed and said that their opinions don’t matter. 
 

“It was about identifying opportunities to score and push up to their total. With how the wicket was going we wanted to push it on as much as we could but sometimes that doesn't work out. Opinions in the dressing room are the ones that matter to us,” Stokes said in the post-match presentation. 

Stokes sees positives ahead of fourth Test

Stokes lauded Duckett who scored 153 in the first innings, nearly half of England's score in reply to India's 445.
 

“Ben Duckett played an unbelievable innings, that was the tone we wanted to set with the bat,” he said. 
 

After going down 2-1 in the series, Stokes is optimistic about fighting back when the team reaches Ranchi for the fourth Test starting February 23.
 

“We're 2-1 down in the series but still have two games left. We leave this game behind, know we've got to win the next two to win the series," the 32-year-old added. 
 

Stokes’ shot selection in Rajkot

Stokes was impressive with the bat in the first innings. He got a good start but got out trying to take the aerial route against Ravindra Jadeja. After a 41-run knock in the first innings, he walked out to bat under pressure in the run chase with England losing four wickets for just 28 runs. After Root departed, Stokes lost his wicket in the next over to Kuldeep Yadav in an attempt to sweep. He scored 15 runs from 39 deliveries contributing to the collapse.
 

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