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ENG vs IND | Twitter reacts as Stokes cherishes England comeback on the back of hot-hands Tongue

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BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

14

What makes Test cricket special is its ebbs and flows -- the ability of a team to construct wins across days or their proclivity to throw it all away in an hour's time. England rode on one such high wave in Leeds on Saturday when Josh Tongue ripped through India's tail, much to Ben Stokes' joy.

India looked set to extend their Day 1 domination on Saturday as Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill comfortably stretched their overnight stand of 139 for the fourth wicket past the 200-run mark. It was not until Shubman Gill charged down Shoaib Bashir in the hour before Lunch that the hosts finally got a reprieve but with six wickets still to get, a long order was in store for the Three Lions. Or so it seemed, until Josh Tongue got on a roll.
The right-arm quick began his devastating spurt with a brilliant inswinger from around the stumps to Pant, rendering the wicket-keeper batter completely clueless as the Dukes struck him plumb in front of the stumps with the bat nowhere in the vicinity. With Shardul Thakur departing too on the stroke of Lunch, Ravindra Jadeja remained the hosts’ last remaining threat. Tongue ensured the all-rounder did not make too much of a fuss as he speared another length ball to the southpaw who played it onto his wicket, just an over and half after Tongue had Bumrah caught at slip. To complete the remarkable turnaround from 430/3 to 471 all-out, Tongue nailed a pinpoint yorker on leg stump to sound Prasidh Krishna’s leg stump and end with figures of 4/86.
Stokes was ecstatic at Tongue having turned around his and the team’s fortunes in such a  short span, as he waved his fingers while blowing at them to signal hot hands before sharing high-fives with the pacer. Twitterati approved.

99 problem

Heartache

Milestone

Wicket

Finally

Gone

Out

Dismissed

Heartbreak

Dropped

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