If England can take away anything from the 2nd Test at Vizag, it has to be Ben Stokes

It was the final session on the second day of the second Test of the India-England series in Visakhapatnam and the ball was doing a bit. Conventional swing, a bit of reverse if exploited well, and a lot of turn – conditions were not easy to bat on. England were tottering at 79/4 and had just lost their best batsman Joe Root. The Indian bowlers had their tails up and were looking to make further inroads in the England line-up by the end of the day.

But just like the batting, it was not going to be as easy for the home side. After all, England had their fighter and one of the most improved Test batsmen in Ben Stokes in the middle. The tall and tenacious left-hander stood tall and played a perfectly balanced game up until the end of the day to see the team through and begin afresh the next day. Stokes then took to the laptop to analyse his game and understand what he was doing right and what needed change to further impose himself.

The stomach for a fight

Not afraid to play his shots, Ben Stokes’s decision making became even better on the third day of the match as he showed positive judgement and smacked the bad balls. The left hander started on the positive note but was watchful of the good deliveries and let them be.

It was not late until the southpaw got to a fine 50, the eighth of his career and one of the best given the situation he came to bat in and the pitch playing its tricks. The 25-year-old played a battling knock to pull England out of the potentially deeper trouble they had invited.

That was not it for his contribution in the Test so far. Stokes also almost got Virat Kohli out for cheap in India’s first innings when Adil Rashid dropped a catch at deep fine leg, leaving all to wonder what a big difference that would have made in the game. Stokes later managed to get rid of Ravichandran Ashwin who had settled in and was piling up the score.

So it has not just been with the bat, but even with the ball that Stokes has made a contribution. Though his wickets column only had one tick for the match, he bowled some really tight overs in the middle to build some pressure and hold one end up.

In the first Test against India, Stokes heaped immense pressure on India accompanying his teammates Joe Root and Moeen Ali to a century. It was a really balanced knock and a crucial one helping England stay on top.

From a T20 specialist to a fine Test cricketer

It was less than three years ago on December 5 in 2013 that Ben Stokes made his Test debut against Australia. Seemingly raw, Ben Stokes did not give a bright initial impression and lived up to his early tag of a Twenty20 expert.

But as his coaches from the early days and up until now know, he put in some hard hours in the practice and off field to analyse his game. He was not content with just being a T20 specialist and someone who contributed to the One-Day International setup. He had high aspirations. He wanted to make a mark in the longest and the toughest format of cricket and be known as a complete cricketer.

It was earlier this year when Stokes got himself into the record books. A player who was labelled as a shorter format player struck 258 against South Africa, the second-fastest double century in Test history and the fastest 250 ever.

Up until then, Stokes did not have much runs under his belt and was a bit under the cosh. Another trait visible here and one instrumental behind his success is his ability to handle pressure and come out. For it is never easy to come back so strongly after being hit for four sixes in a World Twenty20 final and get your team to lose from a winning position.

In the next Test as well, South Africa were on top and England were reeling at 91/4, 222 runs behind the hosts. There was a small scare of the 1-0 lead being taken away. It was the pair of Ben Stokes and Joe Root that launched a counterattack and stitched a 111 runs partnership off just 95 deliveries to bring England back in it.

A potential England great?

It was last summer when Ben Stokes was in the thick of the action after England were in deep trouble at 30/4 at Lord’s against New Zealand. A counter attack again and England could breathe.

Stokes has had a fantastic 2016 and more recently, also played a huge role against Bangladesh. Not only did he score a crucial 85 in the second innings of the first innings of the first Test which England won, he took six wickets in the game, two of which were the decisive ones and managed to wrap his arms around the Player of the Match trophy.

With talk of Test cricket being on the decline, it is players like Ben Stokes who keep it alive with their positive mindset and attacking intent. Attacking intent does not necessarily mean going berserk and scoring fours and sixes but about the intent to hang in there, and score at every opportunity. It is about playing the ball on merit and hit the ball away for four or even six if it demands so.

From a player fighting to get into the Test side to someone who now has eight 50’s and four 100’s including a 250+ score in addition to 72 wickets in 28 matches, Ben Stokes has come leaps and bounds and has registered himself as a successful Test cricketer and one that could go on to become an England great.