England have their own clutch champion in captain Stokes, a man with almost unmatched pedigree when the stakes are highest, especially on this ground.
He has been outstanding in this match. Contributions of 44 and 33 with the bat, a vital direct-hit run out of Pant in the first innings.
The skipper has been England’s most consistently threatening bowler, touching 90mph. On Saturday evening, when Stokes was bent double with exhaustion and his shirt translucent with sweat, head coach Brendon McCullum had to send orders to tell Stokes to stop bowling, in order to protect his fragile body.
Even McCullum might not wrestle the ball out of Stokes’ hand on the final morning.
“Ben holds a massive key because he has been England’s best bowler all summer,” said ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan. “The Stokes-Carse combination that bowled in the last half an hour should be the one to start day five.
“There is so much at stake. If England are 2-1 down with two to play, and an Ashes series to come, the wheels start to get loose. I am not saying they will fall off, but preparing for an Ashes series you want to be winning your series at home. There is so much to play for.”
For India, there is a slice of Lord’s history at stake.
On this ground, only one team has conceded more than 387 fielding in the first innings of the match, then gone on to win.
If India pull off a repeat, they will match Australia’s achievement from 95 years ago, when Donald Bradman was wearing baggy green.
That they have such a golden opportunity is partly down to off-spinner Washington Sundar, who claimed 4-22 in England’s second innings.
“The position we’re in we’d have differently taken,” he said. “India will win, probably just after lunch.”
Sundar’s Sunday. Whose Monday?
