London: Australia maintained its lead in the ongoing Ashes 2023 series after defeating England by 43 runs in the second Test at Lord's. Ben Stokes, the captain of England, played an outstanding innings during the game, scoring a record-breaking 155 runs in the fourth innings.

Stokes' brave performance caused social media and cricket fans to go crazy with praise, making it the greatest individual score by an England captain in a Test match's fourth innings.

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli praised England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Twitter for his outstanding performance. In a tweet, Kohli underlined his admiration for Stokes, whom he had previously referred to as the most competitive player he had ever encountered. While praising Stokes' outstanding knock, Kohli also pointed out how Australia had dominated the series.

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“I wasn’t joking about calling Ben Stokes the most competitive bloke I’ve played against. Innings of the highest quality but Australia is too good at the moment," King Kohli said in a tweet, which has now been viewed by three million users on Twitter.

I wasn’t joking about calling Ben Stokes the most competitive bloke I’ve played against. Innings of the highest quality but Australia is too good at the moment ????

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) July 2, 2023

On the last day, Stokes started out carefully and teamed up with Ben Duckett to create a stronghold. Stokes, however, unleashed an outburst of boundaries when Jonny Bairstow was dismissed, hitting an astonishing 50 runs in the final five overs before lunch. In his offensive exhibition, he hit Cameron Green for three straight sixes.

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With assistance from Stuart Broad, Stokes maintained his aggressive batting style in the second session and helped to close the gap to around 100 runs. Unfortunately for England, the match was quickly over as Stokes' dismissal caused a breakdown in the batting order. Josh Hazlewood of Australia and wicketkeeper Alex Carey were instrumental in securing the victory.

Australia now leads the five-match series 2-0 after this win. By collecting four quick wickets on the fourth day, the Australian squad demonstrated their talent and established themselves as the overwhelming favourites to earn another victory. Despite Stokes' heroic efforts, the English team as a whole collapsed under duress and were unable to maintain the pace.

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