Rohit Sharma vs Ben Stokes - who has been the better captain so far in India-England Test series?

Team India and England have gone at each other toe to toe in the two Tests of the five-match series. With the series level at 1-1, both teams are in the midst of a 10-day break to recuperate and strategize for the remaining matches.

While England sprung a surprise by bouncing back from a 190-run deficit to win the opening encounter, the hosts almost dominated from start to finish in their 106-run victory in the second Test.

Apart from the brilliant individual performances that have lit up the two Tests, several discussions have centered around the two captains. With contrasting leadership styles, Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes, have had a massive say on the outcomes of both games.

It is needless to say, Stokes has been the central figure, along with head coach Brendon McCullum, in turning around England's fortunes in Test cricket. Adopting an attacking brand, the duo has enabled the players to express themselves, resulting in 14 wins in 20 Tests.

Meanwhile, Rohit has also impressed as India's Test captain, leading the side to seven wins in 13 outings.

Although evaluating captaincy performances is more of a hindsight exercise, it is worth analyzing how both captains marshaled their troops and made an impact with tactical moves.

On that note, let us deep dive into who between Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes has been the more impressive captain thus far in the series.

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#1 Ben Stokes outwits Rohit Sharma handily in the first Test

India v England - 1st Test Match: Day Four

After England's miraculous first-Test victory, questions arose about Rohit Sharma's inept captaincy at various stages of the game. Despite India bowling England out for 246 in the first innings, there were a few instances of Rohit allowing the game to drift without being proactive. England batters' preference for facing pace over spin is a well-known fact, yet the Indian captain persisted with his opening pacers for as long as eight overs to start the match.

While opening with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj was acceptable, it was clear the latter was out of rhythm. Siraj conceded 14 runs in his first two overs but kept bowling until the eighth over.

England raced to 41/0 before the spin twins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, made inroads immediately upon entry by reducing the visitors to 60/3 in 15 overs.

There was also another questionable call of allowing the spinners to bowl extensively to destructive all-rounder Ben Stokes before bringing back Bumrah. Stokes was on 17 off 51 and motored to 58 from 73 before Bumrah was finally brought back into the attack to dismiss the English skipper for 70. The champion pacer had bowled only seven of the 62 overs before his return.

However, as mediocre as Rohit's captaincy was in the first innings, his field placements in England's second essay came under even more severe criticism. Despite a massive 190-run lead, the 36-year-old instantly resorted to a spread-out field once Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope unveiled a few unorthodox strokes.

The England batters took singles untroubled, evidenced by 59 percent of the runs coming through non-boundaries despite a run rate of over four. It highlights the lack of dot balls bowled at the batter while also conceding singles and twos easily.

Rohit and India paid the ultimate price for their lack of proactiveness as Pope masterminded a match-winning 196 to help England score 420 in Hyderabad.

On the other side, Stokes made one apparent blunder by not giving part-time off-spinner Joe Root the ball to left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal entirely on Day 1. However, he immediately corrected his error on Day 2 with the move paying rich dividends as Root dismissed Jaiswal in the first over of the day.

Yet, the delay allowed India to get off to a 123/1 start but shrewd moves from that point ensured they were restricted to 436. In the second innings, Stokes was on the money with his bowling changes and field placements as England bundled India out for 202 to cap off a memorable 28-run victory.

Verdict: Ben Stokes - 8/10, Rohit Sharma - 3/10

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#2 Both captains endure a mixed bag in the second Test

India v England - 1st Test Match: Day One

The second Test was a more evenly matched battle between the two captains. On a much better batting track in Vizag, Stokes ably managed his bowlers and rotated the field to restrict India to 396 in the first innings. Yet, considering James Anderson's stranglehold on Yashasvi Jaiswal despite the latter's double-century, one wonders if he could have bowled the veteran pacer more.

While the southpaw smashed 19 fours and seven maximums in his 209, he managed only one boundary off Anderson. The wily pacer also dismissed him in both innings, leading to the thought of him perhaps bowling a lot more to Jaiswal in India's first essay.

Like in the first innings, Stokes was largely impressive in the second essay as England restricted the hosts to only 255. However, he went defensive when Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer added a crucial 81 for the third wicket.

Another minor glitch may have been if Stokes could have persisted with Anderson a little longer to Gill at the start of his innings. Despite dismissing the batter five times in Tests, including in the first innings of this game, Anderson bowled only 10 deliveries off the first 71 deliveries faced by Gill.

Coming to Rohit, he was handicapped for starters by a dismal showing from second pacer Mukesh Kumar in both innings. Yet, he utilized the best of Jasprit Bumrah beautifully when the ball was reverse swinging to dismantle England in both innings.

Rohit used Bumrah for an extended nine-over second spell in the first innings, and the pacer picked up three game-changing wickets. The Indian skipper brought him back nine overs later, and another three wickets followed.

Bumrah's six-wicket haul helped India capture a sizable 143-run lead in the first innings, and Rohit's using him at the perfect time went a long way towards achieving that.

Although Rohit was reasonably impressive even in the final innings, he made a potential blunder by keeping Kuldeep Yadav until the fag end of the first session on Day 4.

The left-arm leg spinner bowled only four of India's first 42 overs and none of their 27 overs on Day 4. This despite being India's second-best bowler in the first innings with three wickets. However, when he finally arrived, Kuldeep picked up the dangerous Zak Crawley for 73 in his first over. It prompted questions on whether he could have bowled much earlier in the session.

Nevertheless, Rohit's captaincy moves led India to bowl England out for 292, resulting in a series-levelling win.

Verdict: Ben Stokes - 6/10, Rohit Sharma - 6/10

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#3 Whose degree of difficulty was higher over the first two Tests?

India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Three

Both captains have had to deal with injuries to key bowlers over the first two Tests. While Ben Stokes was hampered by Jack Leach's knee injury in the series opener, Rohit Sharma missed premier left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the second Test.

After being the only spinner to offer any control in the first innings, Leach bowled only ten overs in the second innings of the first Test. It meant Stokes had to use 19 overs of part-time spinner Joe Root after he bowled 29 overs in the first innings.

As for Rohit, while Jadeja was a crucial missing piece in the second Test, he had an equally effective replacement in Kuldeep Yadav.

That aside, Rohit also had experienced spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja (first Test), Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav, who are proven performers in home conditions.

On the other hand, Stokes had to workaround a spin attack with the combined experience of one Test between Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed, and Shoaib Bashir for most of the two Tests. The series is also Stokes' first captaincy experience on an Indian tour, while Rohit has already led the side several times at home.

Considering all that, a 1-1 series is a massive tick in the direction of Ben Stokes as captain.

Verdict: Ben Stokes - 9/10, Rohit Sharma- 6/10

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In conclusion, it is fair to say that despite the series being tied at one apiece, Ben Stokes has outperformed Rohit Sharma as captain over the two Tests.

While the duo has each made a few questionable calls, Stokes has been far more proactive in his field placements and rotation of bowlers despite a far less experienced spin attack.

Final score: Ben Stokes - 23/30, Rohit Sharma - 15/30