Ben Stokes believes that there is still a great opportunity to win 3-2

The England captain shrugs off criticism of his approach as he nears a return to bowling.

England captain Ben Stokes has vowed to put the disappointment of their crushing 434-run defeat in the third Test in Rajkot behind them and focus on bouncing back to win the series 3-2 in Ranchi later this week.

After putting up a strong challenge against India in the first two days of the contest, England's performance faltered on days three and four. They lost their final 18 wickets for just 217 runs, while India's second innings was marked by Yashasvi Jaiswal's impressive unbeaten score of 214.

India achieved their largest victory by runs in Test history, which led to intense scrutiny of England's ultra-positive approach. This was particularly evident after Joe Root's fateful reverse-scoop against Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning, which caused England's slide from a threatening overnight scoreline of 207 for 2.

Stokes insisted that his team would not be influenced by external opinions. Instead, they would maintain the dressing-room mentality that has led them to win 14 out of 21 matches since the beginning of the 2022 home summer, including a remarkable 28-run victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.

Ben Stokes stated:

"We'll make sure that we're moving on and focusing on what we've got coming up ahead, because games can be won and lost in the head. We'll be leaving all the emotion and disappointment from this week, and moving on to the next one."

Some English newspapers dubbed Root's first-innings dismissal 'the worst shot in Test history', but England's batting was also criticised when Stokes departed for 41, caught in the deep while attempting to hit Ravindra Jadeja for six.

His departure at 299 for 6 led to a final collapse of 5 for 20, giving India a first-innings lead of 126. Stokes believed that the pace of England's innings was crucial, as they were scheduled to bat last on a pitch that was becoming increasingly spin-friendly. He felt that his proven power-hitting approach was the best way to achieve their goals.

Stokes praised Ben Duckett's impressive first-innings knock of 153 from 151 balls, saying it set the tone for the entire innings. But he later conceded that Jaiswal's reply was phenomenal. He hit his second double-century of the series and equaled the world record for sixes.

With the fourth Test fast approaching, Stokes admitted there could be changes to England's seam attack. James Anderson and Mark Wood performed well in difficult conditions in Rajkot. However, the captain himself could provide a potential boost for England, as he has been rehabilitating from recent knee surgery and believes he is close to returning to competitive bowling for the first time since the Lord's Test in June last year.