Ben Stokes is all set to make his a hundredth look in Test cricket on Thursday when England tackle India on the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot to reclaim the lead within the five-match match Test collection. He will grow to be the 76th worldwide participant to succeed in the magnificent milestone within the conventional format and the sixteenth participant for England. The final English participant to get to the milestone was former England captain Joe Root, who additionally achieved the feat throughout a Test match in India, again in February 2021, when he had registered a stellar double century.

Having made his debut within the 2013/14 Ashes collection in Australia, Stokes has amassed 6251 runs in 99 matches in Test cricket, picked 197 wickets and took 105 catches. Legendary Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis are the one gamers to have outperformed Stokes in all three departments in Tests. And the trio are the one cricketers on this planet to have scored over 6000 runs and picked 150-plus wickets of their Test profession.

However, probably the most startling statistic for Stokes, heading into the third Test match of the collection towards India, is that his expertise within the format is greater than the complete batting line-up of the house staff that may characteristic in Rajkot on Thursday.

In a line-up which doesn’t embrace former captain Virat Kohli and an injured KL Rahul, India captain Rohit Sharma stays probably the most skilled of the batters having performed 56 matches in Test cricket. Young Shubman Gill stands subsequent on the checklist with 22 appearances, adopted by seven from wicketkeeper KS Bharat, six from Yashasvi Jaiswal and only one from Rajat Patidar, who solely made his debut within the second Test towards England in Visakhapatnam. Not to overlook, one between Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan could be handed their debut cap on Thursday as a alternative for Shreyas Iyer, who was dropped from the India squad after the opening two matches. So that sums as much as an expertise of 92 Test matches, even lower than the variety of matches Stokes has appeared in until date.

Having overcome one other visa difficulty in Rajkot on Monday night, England staff, who arrived from Abu Dhabi after a brief mid-tour break following the Vizag sport, have begun their coaching for the third Test. They had gained the collection opener in Hyderabad final month, profitable by 28 runs on the again of Ollie Pope’s unbelievable knock of 196. However, India bounced again within the second Test with an emphatic 106-run win to stage the competition at 1-1.