IPL 2017 | Ben Stokes shines again as RPS end SRH's unbeaten home run
Ben Stokes was at his all round best once again for RPS, scoring 39 runs off just 25 balls and then finishing with figures of 3/30 with the ball as Pune beat SRH by 12 runs. Needing to defend 13 runs in the last over, Jaydev Unadkat claimed a hat-trick to put an end to any hopes of an SRH win.
Brief Scores: Rising Pune Supergiant 148/8 (Ben Stokes 39, Steve Smith 34; Siddarth Kaul 4/29, Rashid Khan 1/18) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 136/9 (Yuvraj Singh 47, David Warner 40; Jaydev Unadkat 5/30, Ben Stokes 3/30) by 12 runs.
David Warner won the toss and opted to bowl first adding that Bipul Sharma had replaced Deepak Hooda and Mohammad Siraj made way for Ashish Nehra. Steve Smith, on the other hand, made no changes to his team and hoped RPS could continue their three-match winning run.
RPS get off to a poor start
Bipul Sharma justified his selection in the side as he inflicted a direct hit in the second over to send the dangerous Rahul Tripathi on his way. Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane took their time to settle down and the RPS skipper was given a second life as Bipul Sharma turned villain by dropping the Aussie in the 4th over. But the batting side struggled to get any momentum going, despite scoring 11 runs in the 6th over, which meant that they had managed a meagre score of 35/1 at the end of the powerplay. Sharma struck again, in the 7th over, as he got Rahane to sweep one straight into the hands of Yuvraj Singh. More importantly, over the next few overs, the home side’s bowlers tightened the noose on the opposition even further as a result of which at the halfway stage RPS found themselves at 51/2.
Dhoni saves Pune the blushes
Acknowledging the need to step on the accelerator, Ben Stokes smashed Bipul Sharma for consecutive sixes in the 11th over, as Pune finally seemed to get a move on. But just when Stokes looked set to tear into the Hyderabad bowling, Rashid Khan cleaned up the Englishman in the 15th over. Sharma made amends for his earlier dropped effort, as he finally poached Smith off the bowling of Siddharth Kaul in the next over to put the pressure back on the visitors. But things were to get even worse for the Pune side as Dan Christian held out to Rashid Khan at long off, soon after. Finally, thanks to the efforts of MS Dhoni, who smashed 19 runs in the penultimate over which included 2 sixes and one boundary that RPS reached a par score of 148/8, despite losing Dhoni and Shardul Thakur off consecutive balls in the final over.
Ben Stokes proves his all-round abilities
The Sunrisers got off to a decent start as Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner ensured the home side managed 25/0 after four overs. But Smith handed Ben Stokes the ball in the 5th over and the Englishman made an instant impact as he dismissed Dhawan and Kane Williamson in the space of three deliveries to put Pune on the front foot. But Warner counter-attacked for the home side by hitting Washington Sundar for three boundaries in the 6th over as SRH ended the power play at 47/2. Over the next few overs, Yuvraj and Warner consolidated the defending champions’ position in the game by playing some sensible cricket. And at the halfway stage, Hyderabad
Unadkat’s hat trick seals the deal for RPS
With five overs to go and the Sunrisers needing 48 runs to win, the game was in the balance but that was exactly when Yuvraj tried to stamp his authority on the game as he struck a four and a six in the next two overs. However, just when it seemed that he was taking the game away from the RPS, Unadkat claimed the southpaw’s scalp in the 18th over. And though, Naman Ojha walked in and smashed Unadkat for a six off his very first ball, he too, was dismissed soon after, as he found the safe hands of Stokes on the boundary. More importantly, Stokes was given the responsibility of bowling the crucial penultimate over of the game and he did well