IPL 2017, Match 44, SRH v RPS, CT Player of the Match – Ben Stokes

The Rising Pune Supergiant continued their merry run in the tournament with a clinical win in the low-scoring game at Hyderabad. They beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their own den to stamp their authority in the tournament. The win now sees them rise to the second spot of the points table. RPS ended the 5-match unbeaten run of SRH at Hyderabad. One man who was key to RPS’s performance in the match was all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Stokes played the ideal game for the team as he was equally capable with both bat and the ball in the match. He top scored for the Rising Pune Supergiant with the bat as he finished with 39 runs to his name. His heroics, combined with some application from Steve Smith and finishing from MS Dhoni helped RPS post 148/8 in their 20 overs. In the bowling department, Ben Stokes bagged the big three scalps to put RPS in command on the day.

Sunrisers Hyderabad eventually ended with 136/9 in their innings and fell short by 12 runs. Another man who was instrumental in the win was pace bowler Jaydev Unadkat. He picked up 5/30 in his four overs that included a hat-trick as well. Also, he bowled a maiden in the final over of the innings. He was awarded the Player of the Match for his figures on the day. However, for his all-round show, Ben Stokes gets the CT Player of the Match.

Settling the nerves with the bat

The in-form RPS batsman Rahul Tripathi perished in the very second over of the match after a horrible mixup with Ajinkya Rahane. Soon, Rahane also saw himself heading back to the pavilion in the 7th over. It was just then that all-rounder Ben Stokes walked in to bat at number 4. He joined his skipper Steve Smith at the crease. The team needed some rebuilding work since runs were hard to come by. With only 35 runs in the powerplay, the team needed some scoring.

To add to the woes, Smith found his feet struggling at the crease too. Stokes took things into his hand and played a superlative cameo on the day. He added 60 runs for the third wicket with Smith in 49 deliveries. Stokes eventually was dismissed after scoring 39 off 25 balls. His knock included a four and 3 sixes. He batted with a strike rate of 156 on a track where most batsmen struggled to get runs. His efforts saw RPS post 148 on the board which looked somewhat competitive at the half way stage.

Getting the big three

The target of 148 never looked to be a strong one at the half way stage. With the top three batsmen of the Sunrisers Hyderabad lineup looking in sublime form, the hosts were expected to steamroll the opposition. However, Ben Stokes had other plans. After the SRH openers – Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner – had got off to a decent start, Smith handed the ball to Ben Stokes in the fifth over of the innings.

Stokes struck on the very second delivery as he cleaned up the defenses of Shikhar Dhawan. He was hit for a four by Kane Williamson on the next delivery. But the Englishman had the last laugh as he managed to get an edge of the bat of Kane Williamson as MS Dhoni completed the clean catch. Later in the game, he came back to the attack to dismiss the set batsman David Warner on 40 to complete his triple for the day. He returned with figures of 3/30 in his four overs.

A complete package

Stokes had a near perfect outing on the day. He batted well and then backed it up with a brilliant spell of fast bowling as well. With every passing game, the English all-rounder has been proving to be a value addition to the side. He has been justifying all the money he fetched in the auctions this year. He was good in the field as well and grabbed two catches to complete the dismissals of Naman Ojha and Bipul Sharma.