Nasser Hussain heap praises on Ben Stokes following England's thrilling victory in the 3rd ODI

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has heaped praises on Ben Stokes after the latter’s all round performance handed England their first victory of the tour. England defeated India by 5 runs in the nail-biting thriller at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Stokes who bagged the Player of the Match Award scored a blistering unbeaten 57 of 39 balls and finished with impressive figures of 3/63 in his allotted 10 overs.

The right-arm pacer was returning to the Eden Gardens for the first time since the World Twenty20 final where he conceded four sixes in the first four balls of the final over to help West Indies snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. With 19 required off the last over, Carlos Brathwaite smashed the 25-year old for four consecutive sixes which sealed the deal in the favour of the Caribbeans.

He overcame the heartbreak and put up an inspired performance yesterday. Chris Woakes was the bowler who hailed his nerve and bowled a superb final four deliveries of the match but Hussain was thrilled with the way Stokes came back in Kolkata after the World T20 debacle earlier in 2016. “I wasn’t that bothered about Chris Woakes because I think he’s got something about him,” Hussain was quoted as saying by the Sky Sports.

“He’s mentally tough. I really thought about Ben Stokes this evening, I was really pleased for him. He got runs and even though he didn’t bowl the last over, the two or three overs he bowled before that were exceptional.

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“What he went through on this ground nine or 10 months ago would have knocked lesser men but to see him out there putting in a performance under the utmost pressure and with the memories that were in the back of his mind, I thought it was a thrilling evening for Ben Stokes.”

Hussain praised the openers Jason Roy and Sam Billings for sharing a crucial 98 runs partnership for the opening wicket. Billings who replaced Alex Hales scored 35 batting at top of the order. “The openers set up this victory,” Hussain added. “When the ball was moving around the likes of Billings and [Jason] Roy stood up. England could have easily been 30-3. Think about Sam Billings. He might have got 30 and no-one will remember it but he is someone that hasn’t played a lot of cricket and he comes in and it’s darting about everywhere.”

“India’s openers couldn’t cope with it but Sam Billings coped with it. Of course, the openers had a bit of luck but they deserved it.” Hussain added. Despite winning the final encounter, England lost the series 1-2 but Hussain feels that with the Champions Trophy on horizon Eoin Morgan and his men will have many positives to take into the big tournament.

“England’s batting is exceptionally strong,” Hussain said. “It’s the best batting line up England have ever had in one-day cricket by a country mile.

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“There’s still work to do with their bowling but what I liked about the bowling was that Morgan changed the tactics. Because of the wet dewy ball, they were going to go short but it became a bit predictable and in about the 45th over they mixed it up. The bowlers learnt and Morgan’s captaincy was very good towards the end of the game. There’s work to do but this is a very exciting one-day side,” Hussain concluded.