Stokes: England knew they could 'blow match apart'

ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes praised his side's approach after they pulled off a remarkable five-wicket win over India in the first Test at Headingley on Tuesday.

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Ben Duckett’s superb 149 paved the way for England’s ultimately comfortable pursuit of 371 on the last day, as Stokes’ men once more made light of a seemingly stiff chase with the dynamic batting that has been a hallmark of their play in the ‘Bazball’ era of coach Brendon McCullum.

England twice conceded totals in excess of 350 in the first of this five-match series, but managed to inflict late-order collapses of 7/41 and 6/31 that proved costly for India.

"There's been a lot of skill that has contributed to us winning this Test match, but our attitude as well," said Stokes.

"Every session we turned up with the attitude that we could blow this match apart."

This was England’s second-highest fourth-innings run-chase, just behind the 378/3 they managed also against India at Edgbaston not long after Stokes and McCullum joined forces as captain and coach.