It was the perfect occasion for both Ben Stokes and James Anderson: a day for hard work and bloody mindedness ©BCCI
At the close of play, Ben Stokes trudged off the field like he had ten tonne weights in his boots, barely able to put one foot in front of another. He had put in yet another gargantuan shift with the ball, reminiscent of the performances he delivered in Colombo, Leeds and Cape Town. Close to him was James Anderson, another of England's players who looked like they needed to sleep for a week. He, like Stokes, had pushed his body to the limit in trying to bowl England back into this game under the intense Ahmedabad sun.
Both Anderson and Stokes share a love for hard graft. Anderson speaks often about how he enjoys nothing more than sitting in the changing room at the end of a long, hard day in the field, kit stuck to his body, face caked in dust and sweat, knowing he has given everything to the cause. Stokes is similar. "He loves when it gets tough, he loves when it gets hot and tiring and that's where he stands out the most," Jeetan Patel, England's spin coach, said after play.
It was no real surprise then that both Anderson and Stokes performed as they did. A baking hot day,
