“The Stokes Test?”: Isa Guha asks if 2nd England vs South Africa Test at Old Trafford belongs to Ben Stokes

2nd England vs South Africa Test: The English captain continues to make a mark in the ongoing match at Old Trafford.

During the third day of the second Test of South Africa’s tour of England 2022 in Manchester, England captain Ben Stokes delivered for the umpteenth time in his career to regain control over a Test match.

Continuing his first spell of the innings post tea, Stokes picked two crucial wickets to dismiss South Africa batters Rassie van der Dussen (41) and Keegan Petersen (42) in quick succession. An 87-run fourth-wicket partnership between Petersen and van der Dussen had started to become a threat for the hosts but Stokes’ dual blows once again handed the advantage to England.

It was on the third delivery of the third session when Stokes induced an edge off van der Dussen’s bat as England wicket-keeper Ben Foakes completed a straightforward catch.

In no mood to stop at one wicket, it was in the next over that Stokes bowled an unplayable delivery to Petersen to cause more damage. A delivery which left Petersen bounced out of nowhere as the right-handed batter gloved the ball to Foakes.

Although separated by a tea break in between, Stokes is currently bowling the 12th over of his first spell at Old Trafford. With South Africa still trailing by around 100 runs, the match has it in it to end today itself.

Isa Guha asks if 2nd England vs South Africa Test at Old Trafford belongs to Ben Stokes

One of the commentators for Sky Sports in this series, former England pacer Isa Guha took to her social media platform Twitter handle to inquire if the ongoing match belongs to Stokes.

Stokes, who had also picked a couple of wickets in the first innings, had changed the game with his 12th Test century on Day 2. A magnificent 173-run sixth-wicket partnership alongside Foakes had seen him scoring 103 (161) with the help of six fours and three sixes.

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In what was Stokes’ seventh Test century at home and at No. 6, it was his fourth against South Africa, second in 2022 and first as captain.