"Cometh the hour, cometh the man, that's Ben Stokes" - Aakash Chopra lauds England skipper's knock in 2nd Ashes Test

Aakash Chopra has lauded Ben Stokes for invariably delivering the goods whenever England are in a tough situation.

Stokes smashed 155 runs off 214 balls in England's second innings of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Sunday, July 2. However, his knock went in vain as the hosts lost the match by 43 runs to go 2-0 down in the five-match series.

While reflecting on the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Stokes for his valiant effort:

"You will have to praise Ben Stokes, the sort of knocks he has played under pressure in the Ashes or the World Cup final. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, that's Ben Stokes."

The former Indian opener opined that only the England skipper can do what he did on Sunday:

"Nine fielders were in the deep and despite that, what Ben Stokes does, only Ben Stokes does that. The Ashes were going absolutely cold thus far. He was okay as a captain but as a batter and bowler, big name but his performances were not that big until now."

Stokes clubbed nine fours and as many sixes during his 155-run knock. He added 108 runs for the seventh wicket with Stuart Broad (11) to take England just 70 runs away from an incredible win.

However, his dismissal triggered a collapse, with Ollie Robinson and Broad also falling in quick succession before Mitchell Starc closed out Australia's win by dismissing Josh Tongue.

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"He raises his game to a different level" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli calling Ben Stokes the most competitive cricketer

Ben Stokes was extremely disappointed when he failed to take England across the line.

Aakash Chopra concurred with Virat Kohli's views about Stokes' big-match temperament:

"Virat Kohli also said that he is the most competitive cricketer that he has come across and this is why. There is no doubt that he is a big-match player. He raises his game to a different level."

The reputed commentator concluded by observing that the England all-rounder seems to be a crisis man just like Sir Garfield Sobers used to be for the West Indies in the past:

"There are a few players who you look at them like that. I remember a thing about Sir Gary Sobers. It used to be said about him that when his team used to be 300/4 or 300/5, he didn't use to score runs, that it is not challenging enough."

Chopra added:

"As soon as they were 105/5 or 70/6, then Sir Gary used to hit a lot. It seems to be something similar in the case of Stokes. I remember the Leeds match, this Lord's match."

Stokes scored an unbeaten 135 to take England to an improbable one-wicket win in the 2019 Headingley Test. However, he failed to do an encore on Sunday as his fighting effort couldn't help his team draw parity in the series.