Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain, believes that Ben Stokes‘ aggressive approach faltered during the crucial final innings of the fourth Test match in Ranchi, ultimately costing England the series against India. Chappell highlighted the contrasting leadership styles of Stokes and Rohit Sharma, crediting Sharma’s tactics for India’s victory.

Although the final series result of 4-1 in favor of India seems decisive, the outcome was uncertain heading into the fourth innings of the penultimate Test. Stokes’ questionable decisions, such as opening the bowling with Joe Root and employing defensive field placements, allowed India to successfully chase down a challenging target of 192 runs with relative ease, securing a 3-1 lead in the series.

Chappell said while deciding moments test series

“Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes have waged an intriguing captaincy battle in their Test series. However Stokes’ aggressive leadership faltered at a crucial time and India – well led by Rohit – claimed the series with a resounding victory in the fourth Test in Ranchi,” wrote Chappell.

“On the third evening (4th Test) Stokes desperately needed to start India’s chase with his best two bowlers and try to claim at least one wicket. Incredibly, he gave the ball to a part-timer, Joe Root, and ignored the experienced, probing bowling of Jimmy Anderson. India took full advantage and scored an invaluable 40 runs off just eight overs.”

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Despite India struggling at 120/5 during the chase, they managed to clinch victory with five wickets in hand, thanks to a resilient partnership between Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan. Chappell observed that the final Test saw England succumbing to the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin.

India’s rise to the top of the World Test Championship table

In the series, England failed to capitalize on winning the toss and batting first, posting modest scores of 218 and 195 in their innings. Their disappointing performance culminated in a 1-4 series defeat, marking a challenging tour of India.

In contrast, Australia started the series strongly with a 172-run victory in the opening Test, followed by a thrilling three-wicket win in the second contest.

Chappell  said, “In the final Test in India, England again capitulated to spin – this time it was the wrist version, from the talented Kuldeep Yadav, who broke open England’s vulnerable batting order while R Ashwin plundered the bottom half as offspin was again dominant.”

“India kept getting stronger in this series, while England were regularly being overwhelmed by spin. Despite all the feel-good stories and bold predictions, India and Australia are still flexing their muscles as dominant teams.” 

With these results, India and Australia have emerged as the top two teams in the latest World Test Championship (WTC) standings for the 2023-2025 cycle.