It was the second game of the Rising Pune Supergiant against Kings XI Punjab where the most expensive man of this grand tournament played boldly and his bat seemed programmed to just hit the ball out of the fence. Ben Stokes hit his first IPL half-century in the very second game and proved that he is worth buying for Rs 14.5 crore.
Ben Stokes came into bat when Pune’s team already had lost its top order including Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal and the team was reduced to 36/2. Unlike the first game, skipper Steven Smith couldn’t do any heroic through his bat and neither could MS Dhoni. But it was the Englishman who played a vital role to take the score ahead and score the first fifty in this IPLs.
He built a partnership of 13 runs with skipper Steve Smith, 22 runs with MS Dhoni and a massive one of 61 runs with Manoj Tiwary. His bat yelled runs like a dragon yells fire. He hit 2 fours and 3 sixes and scored a quick fifty in just 32 balls. He could have converted his inning into a bigger one but unfortunately, he caught nd bold by Axar Patel in the 18th over.
But his short yet massive stint on the field entertained the viewers to the fullest. His shots compelled the Twitteratis to react in their ways on the micro-blogging site and the tweets which came are just worth reading!
.@benstokes38‘s exceptional knock brought the much needed stability to the innings. Well done #Stokes. #RangWahiJungNayi #KXIPvRPS pic.twitter.com/SP5YGNfoW3
— RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) April 8, 2017
@Moto_IND @RPSupergiants After completing 50 runs while batting, #Stokes would be confident which will help him fetch some wickets today.#differentchargesbetter
— Shubham Pacharne (@imShubhamP) April 8, 2017
Well played #Stokes for his 1st 50 of 1st season #Ipl #IPL2017. #KXIPvRPS
— SRK (@shah_zuli786) April 8, 2017
#KXIPvRPS
After 71/4 in 11.2 overs#Stokes & tiwary manage the innings
And RPS able to reach 163.
Maybe a fighting total.#VIVOIPL— IndianPremierLeague (@Ipl_Season) April 8, 2017
Thanks to #Stokes #ManojTiwary & #Christian at the end. KXIP bowlers bowled good unexpectedly. #KXIPvRPS #IPL
— քʀaʝaҡta (@cool_nikkki) April 8, 2017
Finally Good Score on Board!!!! Well-done #stokes @RPSupergiants #RangWahiJungNayi #KXIPvsRPS
— Jayesh Pandit (@IamJayeshPandit) April 8, 2017
FIFTY for #Stokes off 30 balls, with three sixes – big three overs left in store for #RPS on SS3 #IPL pic.twitter.com/sX1ldmiir2
— Sky Sports Cricket(@SkyCricket) April 8, 2017
#stokes going to win it for the #supergiants
— The Egg [SDMN] (@jamie07914397) April 5, 2017
First IPL fifty for #Stokes – coming in his second match of the tournament. Three big overs coming up for both teams #IPL
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 8, 2017
Weldon @benstokes38 great FIFTY #ipl #stokes #benstokes #RPSvKXIP
— Benstokes Fans (@benstokes38FC) April 8, 2017