Dubai: England all-rounder Ben Stokes proved that he is worthy of the honour of being the highest-paid Indian Premier League (IPL) player through a blazing maiden Twenty20 century to guide Rising Pune Supergiant to an exciting five-wicket win with one ball to spare against Gujarat Lions in Pune on Monday.
Though Stokes, who received a $2.16 million (Dh7.9 million) contract that broke the IPL signing record for a foreign player, had made only 127 from the seven innings before his unbeaten knock of 103 runs. The left-hander had scored 63 per cent of Pune’s total, after coming in to bat in the second over at the fall of the third wicket.
Pune captain Steve Smith, in his post-match comments, said: “He [Stokes] has done a terrific job for us. We paid a big amount to get him. We know he’s a quality player. [He] certainly earned his cash tonight.”
Following the knock a shower of twitter messages followed hailing Stokes. India’s Yuvraj Singh tweeted: “Ben strokes! A serious knock @benstokes38 too much talent this guy possesses! Beautiful to watch as a left hander.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan too tweeted: “Exactly why they paid all the dosh .... Best All rounder in the World by a country mile ... @benstokes38.”
Left-handed Stokes, who walked in with Pune precariously placed at 10 for three, put on a 76-run fifth-wicket partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who made 26, and saw Pune pass the target with one ball to spare. Stokes’ knock is the highest score by a batsman at No. 5 or lower in the IPL.
When Stokes went on a rampage with seven fours and six sixes, Gujarat Lions’ impressive total of 162 seemed not big enough.
Smith admitted that all-rounders are valuable in T20 cricket and that Stokes is a perfect fit for his team.
Interestingly, Smith even revealed that he had pushed his owners to try and get Stokes at all cost. “We were very excited to get him. I had said before the auction to the guys [owners] just do what you have to get him,” said Smith.
Stokes, dubbed Stokesy, is hailed by his teammates, who are proud of having him in the team. Christchurch-born Stokes, who is only 25, was a shattered man after the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup final in Kolkata when Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four successive sixes, but today he is a batsman many bowlers fear. In fact, his bowling too has improved tremendously.
After the innings for Pune, Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh also tweeted: “BIG BEN @benstokes38 what an inn that was. congratulations super game.”
Glenn Maxwell, one of the finest hard-hitters, too hailed Stokes by tweeting: “That’s as good as a t20 hundred can get! Coming in at 5 in the 2nd over under pressure. Incredible.”
And most of the newspapers addressed his innings as a million-dollar performance.
