Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting hails Ben Stokes' valiant Lord's knock, compares to Dhoni's match-winning approach

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has heaped praise on England captain Ben Stokes and compared him to legendary India player MS Dhoni after playing a valiant knock in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. Stokes scored 155 on the final day of the Test match but could help his side to the win as Australia won by 43 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. According to Ponting, there are very few players that can stretch the game to last and win it for their side.

Ponting heaps praise

"The first one that comes to mind is maybe someone like a Dhoni, who's there at the end in a lot of T20 games, and finishing games, whereas Ben's doing it at the end of Test matches, and there's not, probably not many, many players through the history of the game that have found themselves in that sort of role and are there at the end winning games, and especially as a captain,” Ponting said while in conversation with ICC TV.

Stokes came out to bat when England were 45/4 and needed 326 more runs to level the Ashes at 1-1. The England skipper played a gutsy knock which consisted of 9 fours and 9 sixes and held one end before getting out. By the time, Stokes departed England were the favourites to clinch the contest as they needed 70 runs to win with four wickets in hand. But his dismissal paved the way for Australia to clinch the contest as they quickly wrapped the tail.

"I thought and everyone probably thought he could do it again because we've seen it happen before, but this was probably, slightly more runs that they were chasing (in 2019)," added Ponting.

England with mount to climb

Both England and Australia will next take the field in the Third Ashes Test which starts on Thursday, July 6 at Headingley in Leeds. Currently, the hosts are tailing 0-2 and will need an improbable comeback to stay in the hunt for their first Ashes glory in eight years.

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