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Ben Stokes' doppelgänger spotted again. Hilarious exchange goes viral – Watch




England captain Ben Stokes may not play in the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a thigh injury, but he is still active in the England dressing room. There was a hilarious moment at Old Trafford on Friday when match cameras caught a man in the crowd who looked like a carbon copy of Stokes. Since Stokes was in the stadium, fans were also able to capture his laughter when they saw his image on the big screen. Just like Stokes, this fan had red hair and a beard. When he appeared on the screen, the England captain gave a thumbs up in approval. But moments later, the fan opened his jacket and on the back of his shirt was written “Stokesy 55.”

Check out: Ben Stokes' doppelganger!

Stokes couldn't help but grin as the crowd cheered at the coincidence.

Joe Root's courageous and unbeaten 62 led England to a five-wicket victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Saturday.

England were set for victory at 205 and were languishing at 56-2 when star batsman Root was substituted on just before tea time on the fourth day.

But he and Yorkshire teammate Harry Brook (32) put on a laborious partnership of 49 in 20 overs – a far cry from England's 'bazball' approach of recent years – although boundaries were hard to come by due to the still-slow outfield.

However, the game was level again when Brook chipped a return catch to left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya. England were 119-4 and needed another 86 runs to win.

But Jamie Smith, who had just scored his maiden Test century in the first innings, gave Root a good assist with a brisk 39 during a stand of 64 as England took a 1-0 lead in a three-match series after finishing on 205-5.

It was another sign of the 24-year-old wicket-keeper's admirable temperament in big matches: Smith's performance with the bat in Manchester mitigated the impact of the absence of regular captain Ben Stokes due to a hamstring tear that ended the series.

The fact that Sri Lanka held on to this match well into the fourth day was a testament to their resilience after slumping to 6-3 on the opening morning.

They continued that battle on the field on Saturday before Smith broke the shackles with consecutive fours against Jayasuriya before later pulling him out for a six.

When he was bowled out by Asitha Fernando, England were close to victory at 183-5.

(With AFP inputs)

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