England vs India 2018: 5 reasons why England lost the third T20I

Under-utilization of Ben Stokes, the bowler

Why did he bowl just two overs?

England knew that they were at least 20 runs short. England knew that they needed early wickets and had to ensure that they didn't let the visitors get off to a flyer. Despite knowing all this, India got off to a great start as they finished the powerplay at 70/2.

And enter, Ben Stokes. The all-rounder had been brought in for Joe Root and was cleared to bowl as well. And perhaps most telling, England's best three-over period in the entire innings was when Ben Stokes was bowling.

After conceding just two runs off his first over, Stokes came back after an Adil Rashid over that went for 10 runs. Although his second over went for 9 runs, his figures were still far better than any other England bowler. At the end of two overs, Stokes had conceded just 11 overs. When the opposition needs nearly 10 runs an over that is simply sensational.

And yet for some reason only the England captain knows, Stokes didn't bowl at all for the rest of the game. Weird? Most certainly. Perhaps he wasn't fully fit to bowl his quota, but couldn't Morgan have at least given him another over? When all the other pacers were going at an economy rate of well over 10, wouldn't it have made sense to give the ball to someone who was going at just 5.5?