A sensible patient stokes Innings would probably would have won the
match for England.

197 remaining to score in 42 overs was doable for England with patience.

Root is woefully out of form.

===============================================================

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/icc-world-cup-2023-mohammed-shami-to-ben-stokes-ten-balls-from-hell-1406151

Shami to Stokes: Ten balls from hell

The contest produced nine dots and a wicket seemingly born of
desperation. Was it a bad shot, though?

Matt Roller

Can we stop using the phrase: "That's a bad shot"?

That was the plea Ben Stokes made to "everyone watching cricket" in the
Players' Tribune, eight days before this summer's Ashes. "The shot
choice is only ever bad when it's out," he said. "You might try the same
exact shot at another ball, catch it sweetly and it sails over the rope
for a four or six, and then no one will say anything."

Stokes' analysis was clear. Cricket, he argued, is an outcome-oriented
sport, where the difference between positivity and recklessness can be
infinitesimally small. There is nothing more debilitating for a player
than fear of getting out in the 'wrong' way. And dismissals are analysed
in isolation, when they tend to be the product of everything that has
come before.

What had come before Stokes walked out to bat on Sunday evening in
Lucknow was: England were 30 for 2 in pursuit of 230, having just lost
two wickets in as many balls to Jasprit Bumrah. Their bright start
briefly sucked the life out of the crowd, but the wickets reinvigorated
all 46,000 of them - of whom around 45,900 seemed to be wearing India's
royal blue.

This was a slow pitch, one which had been used once already in this
World Cup and proved demanding for batters on both sides. England's
route to victory - one that would only be a consolation - was for one of
their top order to bat for a prolonged period of time, as Rohit Sharma
had done in the first innings, and hope that the dew made life tricky
for India at the back end.

Bumrah's brilliance had already accounted for two of the top order:
Dawid Malan and Joe Root. If England had any opportunity to score runs,
any hope of maximising the five overs remaining before the field spread,
it was against bowlers from the South End. With Mohammed Siraj
struggling with his ankle, Mohammed Shami became Stokes' target.

For Shami, this was a simple game. England's seamers had shown that the
most effective way to bowl with the new balls on this surface was by
hitting a good length, and erring shorter rather than fuller. For the
first time in the tournament, India's seamers were bowling with the new
ball at dusk, when the ball seems to deviate even more; if not, perhaps
batters struggle to read movement as well under floodlights.

Shami's first ball to Stokes pitched on a good length, and was left
alone. His second was near-identical, and Stokes charged down the pitch,
giving himself room to try and crash an early boundary through the off
side. The ball nipped away off the seam, past Stokes' outside edge and
into KL Rahul's gloves. Shami put his hands on his head.

Shami dragged his length back, just a fraction, and Stokes shaped to
steer him away through point. He played and missed, inducing a grimace
from Shami in his follow-through. The final ball of Shami's first over -
Bairstow had flicked the first for two, then steered the second for a
single - skidded into Stokes' pad as he shaped to work leg-side. Four
balls, no runs.

Stokes watched from the non-striker's end as Bairstow played out a
maiden from Bumrah: England's 30 for 0 after 4.4 overs had become 33 for
2 after seven. The outfield was covered in dew; a single boundary could
be enough to prevent the ball from swinging. But Shami was relentless,
refusing to budge from that good length.

The first ball of Shami's second over hardly moved, but shaped away just
enough from around the wicket to beat Stokes' defence. And so Stokes
decided it was time to take control: to the second, he skipped down
again, flinging his bat at another good-length ball. He was shaping
through extra cover, but found mid-off with a mistimed flash.

The charge down the track has become Stokes' default response in Test
cricket, not least since he became captain. When it works, it can throw
bowlers off their length, transfer pressure from one team to another,
and turn the feel of a game altogether; when it doesn't, it can look
impulsive and rash.

Stokes made contact with the third ball of Shami's over, punching to
cover from a slightly shorter length, but not the fourth. Shami put his
hands on his head as another immaculate, good-length ball angled in,
seamed away, and beat Stokes on the outside edge. The fifth was Shami's
only fuller ball to Stokes, targeting the stumps. He worked it calmly to
mid-on.

Nine balls, nine dots, no runs. Five balls on a good length, three a
fraction shorter and one a little fuller. One leave, two charges, three
balls that connected with Stokes' bat. Fifteen balls since England last
scored a run. 197 to win in 42.1 overs, eight wickets in hand. Six
games, five defeats, two points. 32 nights since England's players left
home, 14 more until they are finally put out of their misery.

Which of those numbers passed through Stokes' head when he made the
calculation that the final ball of Shami's second over had to go? Maybe
none; maybe so many that his mind was scrambled. Stokes planted his
front foot outside leg stump, looking to make room to force the ball
through the off side for four. The ball nipped in off the seam, skidded
through off the pitch and clattered into his middle and leg stumps.

Shami punched the air and roared, along with the rest of a stadium with
the size to overawe. Stokes trudged off, his contribution to England's
World Cup since he reversed his ODI retirement reading 48 runs in three
appearances, three catches, and no balls bowled. Pressure can create
diamonds, and burst pipes. A bad shot? Perhaps that should be left for
Stokes to decide.