Published: May 01, 2017, 11:39 PM (IST)
Edited: May 02, 2017, 11:12 AM (IST)
There was a reason the owners of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) invested INR 14.5 crores on England all-rounder Ben Stokes. There are bitter memories of Stokes conceding four consecutive sixes in the ultimate over of the ICC WT20 2016 final. However, Stokes is a man of many talents, a man of many accolades. There is more to him than what was witnessed in the ICC tournament. In match 39 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, Stokes blasted his maiden T20 century in his maiden IPL season. In pursuit of 162, his unbeaten 103 off 63 helped the Supergiant edge past Gujarat Lions (GL) by 5 wickets in a last-over thriller at Maharasthra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. Full cricket scorecard: RPS vs GL, IPL 2017, Match 39
The Supergiant had lost 4 wickets with a mere 42 runs on the scoreboard. They needed another 120 runs off 87. With MS Dhoni and Stokes in the middle, the target seemed attainable. All the same, the Lions displayed magnificent show of character and bowled in the right channel, keeping a lid on the runs.
Before that, the Supergiant had dismissed Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, and Manoj Tiwary within 1.3 overs. The man-in-form Rahul Tripathi played a lovely scythe through point to resurrect the innings, but a terrible mix-up with Stokes resulted in a run out. Fast-forward to Dhoni and Stokes.
Despite the disciplined bowling, the duo made sure they keep the wickets intact. Dhoni, for that matter, preferred taking matters till the end and thrivev under pressure, but Stokes dished out a different strategy altogether. He dropped the anchor and reduced Dhoni to play the supporting role.
If anything, Stokes caught the Lions by the throat and strangled the life out of their bowlers. Dhoni, at the other end, could not switch on his brute force and fell for 26 while trying to clear the long-off boundary. Along with Stokes, he added 76 runs for the fifth wicket.
Stokes was left with half the side to pull off the unlikely. From 25 balls, the Supergiant needed 44 with Stokes on 72 off 49. Given his team was racing against time, he altered his modus operandi a bit. He decided to go aerial. Needing 25 off 2 overs, he peppered two sixes. The Supergiant needed only 8, with Stokes only 2 runs short of his 100.
James Faulkner, who had bowled the Super Over in the previous contest, was given the responsibility to stop the Stokes juggernaut. However, he could not weave any magic against the might of Stokes, who brought up his hundred with swat past cover region.
Dan Christian was at the crease when the Supergiant needed 1 off 2. He emulated Stokes and walloped a six to finish off the match, leaving the Lions flummoxed.
Barring Pradeep Sangwan and Basil Thampi, no bowler could scalp wickets. Amidst the carnage, leg-spinner Ankit Soni ended with figures of 4-0-16-0.
Brendon McCullum and Dinesh Karthik were the only two batsmen from the Lions’ camp who could provide impetus. Meanwhile, others were kept at bay with Imran Tahir and Jaydev Unadkat’s three-wicket hauls.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Lions 161 in 19.4 overs (Brendon McCullum 45, Ishan Kishan 31; Imran Tahir 3 for 27, Jaydev Unadkat 3 for 29) lost to Rising Pune Supergiant 167 for 5 in 19.5 overs (Ben Stokes 103*, MS Dhoni 26; Basil Thampi 2 for 35) by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match: Ben Stokes
