IPL 2017: Ben Stokes century vs Gujarat Lions (GL) fantastic for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), says Daniel Christian

IPL 2017: Daniel Christian was all praise for the Ben Stokes, who smashed a much needed and match-winning knock of an unbeaten 103 off just 60 balls.

Struggling at 10 for 3 wickets, it was Ben Stokes, who tuned out to be Rising Pune Supergiant's (RPS's) 'Guardian Angel' © BCCI — Struggling at 10 for 3 wickets, it was Ben Stokes, who tuned out to be Rising Pune Supergiant’s (RPS’s) ‘Guardian Angel’ © BCCI

Following an eventful 5-wicket win over Suresh Raina’s Gujarat Lions (GL) in match 39 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Monday, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) extended their lead in the top four phase of the points table. Meanwhile, Pune all-rounder Daniel Christian was all praise for the fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes, who smashed a much-needed and match-winning knock of an unbeaten 103 off just 60 balls, allowing Rising Pune Supergiant to cruise past Gujarat Lions. Struggling at 10 for 3 wickets, it was Stokes, who turned out to be Pune’s ‘Guardian Angel’. Christian also credited the wicket to support the Pune batsmen. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) vs Gujarat Lions (GL), IPL 2017, Match 39 at Pune

“That’s as good as an innings you will see in Twenty20 cricket. Coming in at 3 for 10, and getting a hundred in just 60-odd balls is just a fantastic thing for Ben Stokes and also for us. Imran Tahir has been brilliant for us this season. There are a couple of games where they have got a hold of him. He has been going for a lot of runs, but has been taking lots of wickets in that middle period. Getting Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith out quickly helped us restrict them to a small total. It has been a pretty impressive performance. To be at 3 for 10 and to win the game, with Stokes getting his 100 in the last over is pretty interesting and fantastic to be a part of,” he told iplt20.com.

“We knew Ben could hit the pretty well. We just had to wish them to miss their yorkers or give him a length ball, and also take the ones and couple in between. The wicket also was really good, and the outfield was obviously pretty fast here. We were pretty confident, but we stayed as calm as we could,” he added. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) vs Gujarat Lions (GL), IPL 2017, Match 39 at Pune

Speaking on his Australian counterpart David Warner’s century for the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) against former two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, he said, “Yeah, obviously that was a brilliant performance as well. He was very dominant on the top there. I think he got it in the 11th over or so, obviously a fantastic performance from him as well.”

He also spoke on the tournament so far. “It has been a great tournament so far. (there have been) Fantastic performances with both bat and the ball. We have seen a couple of hat-tricks as well and hundreds. So obviously, it has been pretty entertaining,” he concluded.