England all-rounder Ben Stokes has become the first batsman in the Indian Premier League to score a century in two successful chases.
Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes on Sunday became the first IPL cricketer to score centuries in two successful chases when he played an unbeaten knock of 107 against Mumbai Indians in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Partnering Sanju Samson, Stokes smashed the Mumbai Indians bowlers all around to get their team a dominating 8-wicket win to keep their hopes alive of making it to the playoffs of the IPL 2020.
Stokes (107 not out) and Samson (54 not out) made a mockery of 196 runs target set by Mumbai Indians. Their unbeaten third-wicket stand of 151 runs in just 82 balls helped Rajasthan Royals reach the target in just 18.2 overs.
His first IPL century had come in his debut season in 2017 when he had played another unbeaten knock. Chasing 162 for Rising Pune Supergiants, Stokes batted for a whirlwind innings 103 runs.
He was bought by RPS at a record price of Rs 14.5 crores. In 12 matches that season, he had scored 312 runs besides picking up 12 wickets.
The win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium helped Steve Smith’s men stay in contention of a knockout berth. They are placed at sixth with 10 points from 12 games.
Meanwhile, after Sunday’s match, the England all-rounder said: “Sort of bittersweet to be honest – it took so long to get one for the team. I would have preferred to get this form two or three games before when we weren’t relying on other results to get us through to the qualifiers.”
“It’s always nice to get back to form. We needed a result from today, so – it’s a good victory,” he added.