England lucky to have Stokes back to his best, says Root

ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes put his body on the line to inspire his side's dramatic victory over India at Lord's, according to teammate Joe Root.

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Stokes took five wickets, scored 77 runs and delivered a crucial run-out of Rishabh Pant in two innings of relentless effort from the all-rounder.

Driven on by Stokes, England won the third Test by 22 runs on a pulsating final day to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Most remarkable of all was the workload that the injury-prone Stokes put his body through as he bowled 44 overs in total, including gruelling spells of 9.2 and 10 overs on the decisive final day.

It was the most the 34-year-old has bowled in over six years and came after two severe hamstring injuries in the past 12 months.