Stokes: ‘Had full belief we could chase down 399’

That turned out to be the case, but Ben Stokes said at no point did his team believe their high target in the fourth innings in the second Test against India was too high.

Still needing 332 from the 399 set by the hosts, captain Stokes and his team began day four in Visakhapatnam with the self-belief that is the cornerstone of their Bazball philosophy.

“Going into the last inning, we had full belief in ourselves that we could pursue this,” Stokes said during the post-match presentation. “How we deal with challenges like that is what we’re all about and the number of races we needed was just another thing to try and pursue.

In times like that, in games where you have the pressure of the scoreboard, a lot of points to chase, that's where your process and the way we know we get the best out of us- even as individuals, that really stands out. “And I thought it was great the way we applied ourselves and really tried to put a lot of pressure on India's bowling attack. Unfortunately, we didn't end up on the good side of the result. Congratulations to India, I thought they played a fantastic match and once again another great match to be a part of.

“There are no suggestions on how to go out and play, it's about going out and playing the way you feel best at any given moment. We knew the task ahead of us…and everyone in this locker room, there is a quality player and they are good enough to be able to go out there, assess the conditions or the situation and also assess how they are feeling and how they feel best to perform these races.

Stokes was further encouraged by England having knocked 67 runs out of their task for the loss of just one wicket – Ben Duckett on the third evening – and with Zak Crawley looking in good touch.

“The most important thing for us was to assert our authority early and let the Indian bowling attack know that this is how we are going to go about the day, trying not to let them settle and make it as difficult for them as possible,” Stokes told the TV station TNT. “I know we have to give credit to [India captain] Rohit [Sharma]the way he led, and the credit to the bowlers that every time we got the momentum back towards us and we somehow felt like we were dominating them, they were able to produce something to take the wicket and put we come back.

“But I'm really happy with the way we found ourselves in a pressure situation. Tracking down the runs in India is never easy, but we were able to go out there and stick to whatever we're talking about.”

Crawley was England's top scorer twice, adding 73 runs in his first 76 innings, but ultimately England fell short in the face of Jasprit Bumrah's timely wicket-taking prowess. Bumrah took 3 for 46, including the dangerous Jonny Bairstow on the stroke of lunch and last man to fall Tom Hartley, to add to his tally of six wickets in England's first innings and seal the victory. But Stokes said Crawley exemplified his team's approach in the fourth innings.

“That period last night where your openers have to come out, it's one of those, what do you do? But I think when you have that real clarity, you're able to see what they have done last night,” Stokes added. “We could have easily been 20 for nothing and not lost a wicket, but the match didn't really go anywhere. Yes, we lost Duckett at the end of the day, but we managed 60 runs and that's a huge deficit when you arrive at a new day.

But Zak, he started again this morning, he felt the threat in Bumrah from the start and then when the spin happened he looked to assert his dominance a little more. But a good match for him with the bat , especially considering he is someone who hasn't been exposed to such conditions for most of his career. Very happy for him and I think it's a great stepping stone for him .

Stokes was full of praise for his trio of young spinners, Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed, who took eight of India's second innings wickets between them as the hosts were bowled out for 255, the more experienced Joe Root playing only two. overs of spin before succumbing to an injury to his right little finger, sustained while fielding. James Anderson, the highly experienced seamer, took the other two as part of his five-wicket haul for the match.

“Watching Tom, Bash and Rehan – five or six test matches between them – to put in the performance they did yesterday, obviously without Joe, and Jimmy having played a very long period on Saturday, I thought what they were able to produce in terms of effort and output, it was incredible,” Stokes said. “They showed a lot of maturity, skills beyond their years and experience and that’s something I’m very proud of as captain.”

With the third Test, in Rajkot, only starting in 10 days, the England team will travel to Abu Dhabi to enjoy a family break.