[Watch] Ben Stokes and Co. enjoy a run in picturesque Dharamshala ahead of India vs England 5th Test
England captain Ben Stokes and his teammates enjoyed a run in Dharamshala in a picturesque Himalayan setting ahead of the upcoming fifth and final Test of the series against India, which starts on March 7.
Dharamshala is one of the most sought-after destinations in the country, situated above sea level of 1457m. The town is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and streams, which adds to its beauty.
Stokes shared a video of the morning jogging session and captioned the Instagram post:
“Some place for a trundle this morning.”
The visitors will be looking for a consolation win in the English conditions against India after losing the Test series 3-1. It was their first series loss in Tests during the Bazball era.
In the previous Test, India beat the visitors by five wickets in Ranchi to take an unassailable lead in the five-match series. The visitors looked good in the first innings but suffered a collapse in the second innings, courtesy of a fifer from Ravichandran Ashwin and a four-wicket haul from Kuldeep Yadav to lose their plot.
“Screwing up the other” – Michael Vaughan slams England's batting performance
Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the batting unit for inconsistency in their two innings during the first four Tests of the five-match series against India. He further questioned the team management for being too supportive and backing their players.
Vaughan wrote in his recent column for The Telegraph UK:
"Overall, as a batting unit England have seemed in need of a reminder that Test cricket is a two-innings game. They have consistently been batting well in one, then screwing up the other.
"Ultimately, the game is about winning and England are struggling to do that against the very best sides. This week, with some extra pressure on selection, they would do well to remember that.”
The 49-year-old added:
"I do wonder, though, if this England setup takes backing a bit too far. Since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over, only one batsman has been dropped, and even that was the tamest dropping you will ever see.
"England inherited Alex Lees from the previous regime and gave him a crack, but always had their eye on Ben Duckett to open with Zak Crawley so simply moved Lees on at the end of their first summer.”
In addition, only three visiting players – Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett, and Joe Root have managed to score centuries in the ongoing Test series. On the other hand, Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow are yet to score a half-century. Skipper Stokes has also failed to score big, excluding his 70 in the opening Test, where England registered their only win by 28 runs.