The Rs 14.5 crore man, also known as Ben Stokes, produced an innings of rare quality, an innings that seemed to justify not just the money that was paid for him but also just how much Pune will miss him when he boards the flight back to England after a few matches.
Stokes walked in to bat with Rising Pune Supergiant struggling at 10 for 3. The three batsmen back in the hut included Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith, two of Pune’s most accomplished batsmen. Exactly 32 runs later, Pune’s most consistent batsman Rahul Tripathi joined his captain in the dug-out after a terrible mix-up with Stokes.
In walked Mahendra Singh Dhoni to join Stokes. The former Indian skipper has had an odd tournament. He has shown glimpses of just how deadly he can be but for most part, he has looked like a batsman not cut out for T20. The runs haven’t flowed freely and perhaps not as quickly as he would have wanted. But whether he is batting well or not, Dhoni still possesses one of the most astute minds in the game.
Together, Stokes and Dhoni, decided they needed to stay in the middle and build a partnership. Now, building a partnership in T20 cricket is never quite straightforward. You take too long to do it and the game will run away from you. You do it too quickly and there is a danger of getting carried away. Somehow, you have to find the right balance.
So even while Dhoni struggled — he played out 16 dot balls in his innings, Stokes found a way to balance things out by playing some big shots of his own. And he didn’t try to slog. Instead, he hit through the line, he hit cleanly, he hit keeping the match situation in mind and he kept upping the rate as the innings came towards the business end. It was exactly the kind of innings one has come to expect from Dhoni.
“He’s been hitting the ball really well,” Smith said after the game. “We’re very happy with where he’s at and how he’s played. That was an amazing innings: under pressure, came in at three for nothing and to play the way he did, he timed his innings beautifully, took the game on at the right time. Fantastic knock to get us home. He hit some very clean balls there, chose the right balls to hit, too.”
Stoke’s contribution to the 76-run stand with Dhoni was 46 runs. He was essentially hoping that Dhoni would join the party too. That never happened and when Dhoni was dismissed with the total on 118, the England allrounder who was suffering from cramps by that point... knew he had to find a higher gear.
When Dan Christian joined Stokes in the middle, RPS needed 44 runs from 23 balls. With two overs to go, the target was an imposing 25 runs off 12 balls. But Stokes upped his game with a nonchalance that was amazing.
Basil Thampi’s first ball of the penultimate over was smashed for six. The fifth ball got the same treatment. Stokes got 17 runs from the over but the cramps got so bad that he couldn’t even stand at the end of the over. The physio was called in, Stokes rehydrated himself and got ready for the last over.
Eight needed off 6 balls and what did Stokes do? Four off the first ball. This was inspiring stuff and that is why somewhere in the Pune dugout, someone must have been thinking... ‘How are we going to replace this man?’
His 103 was a masterclass of T20 batting and it also showed how a true allrounder can indeed win a match with bat or ball.
Stokes has won three man-of-the-match awards — the most in the IPL this season. Two for his bowling and one for his batting. He is a cricketer, who at all times gives his all. He is inspirational and a straight shooter. But after just a few matches more, he will get on a plane and fly back home. If Pune could, they would love to cancel all flights to England but they can’t. Stokes will be gone.
Pune, if they get into the Qualifiers and it looks likely at the moment, will be a lesser team. There will be a huge void created by Stokes’ absence and it will have to be filled by a collective will. But then again, given what Stokes has done, will that be enough?
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