Manchester [UK], July 22 : On the eve of the fourth Test match against India at Old Trafford in Manchester, England skipper Ben Stokes said that he felt in rhythm and was and was consistently threatening Indian batters on the final day of the Lord's Test, despite picking up just two wickets.
Stokes bowled the most number of overs for England in the second innings of the Lord's Test. He bowled 24 overs and grabbed three wickets, and took the important wicket of KL Rahul for 39, who scored a century in the first innings.
While addressing media in the press conference, Stokes said, "I just felt really good, and even though I only got two wickets throughout the day, I just felt like I was threatening. My rhythm felt really good. Everything felt just sort of easy."
"As a bowler, sometimes when you get into those rhythms, you just feel like you're going through the motions and you feel like you're just warming up, if that makes sense. But everything was coming out really well. I consistently felt threatened in those spells, hence why I kept on going," he added.
Stokes also said that he just wanted to win the game for England and felt relatively sensible with his loads so far in terms of breaking up overs throughout fielding innings.
"Enjoyment, probably not the right word. I just wanted to win the game for my team. I think it is a good sign for me personally. I feel like I've been relatively sensible with my loads so far in terms of breaking up my overs throughout our fielding innings. But as I said, it got to that day five, and I was going to leave everything out there," Stokes added.
"It could have worked out differently. I might have bowled three or four spells throughout the day, but those two spells, and I was bowling everything, felt really good, hence why I kept on going."
Stokes is the leading wicket-taker for England in the ongoing India series. He has grabbed 11 wickets in three matches at an average of 29.45 and economy of 3.08.
However, he has yet to make a big statement with the bat, having scored only 163 runs in six innings at an average of 27.16.
England is currently leading the series 2-1, on the other hand India will aim to cut down the deficit once again as they head to Manchester for the fourth Test, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at Old Trafford.