World T20: Ben Stokes had a meltdown in final vs West Indies but his shot at redemption won't be far away

Ben Stokes after England's loss in the World T20 final at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Solaris Images

by Apr 5, 2016

“You need maybe 5 -10 games to develop a good habit but only 15 minutes to learn a bad habit,” MS Dhoni famously quipped during India’s recent record-winning run in T20 Internationals.

Ben Stokes would readily testify.

The England all-rounder needed only a few minutes for all the good work he had done bowling at the death during the entire ICC World Twenty20 to be undone in just four balls from cricketing hell. As Carlos Brathwaite went 6, 6, 6, 6 in Hulk-smash mode, as Firspost’s Snehal Pradhan put it, the image of Stokes squatting at Eden Gardens, staring blankly into space, will long remain etched in T20 folklore.

Ben Stokes choked, there are no two ways about it. It was the biggest over of his so far impressive career and he failed to deliver. Nineteen runs to defend with the World T20 trophy on the line – all the pressure was on West Indies. Stokes just had to repeat what he had done so well in the semi-final against New Zealand, conceding five runs in his last two overs – the 18th and 20th of the innings, while picking up three wickets. He did the same in the do-or-die match against Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla, choking with a series of yorkers the hamstrung Angelo Mathews who was playing probably the innings of his life to bring Sri Lanka within touching distance of a remarkable comeback victory.

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