‘Big Ben’ comes to the party

Chasing 161, Rising Pune Supergiant slumped to 42 for four in seven overs, 67 at the 10-over milestone, before Ben Stokes smashed his way to 103 not out off 63 balls, his first T20 ton, to guide his team home by five wickets, 167 for five in 19.5 overs. M.S. Dhoni’s departure 43 runs away from the target did not curb the England all-rounder as he plundered runs at will (seven fours, six sixes) to deflate Gujarat Lions at the MCA stadium in IPL-10.

Stokes blasted 50 off 38 balls (3x4, 3x6), defusing the crisis after Lions combo of Pradeep Sangwan’s swing and Basil Thampi’s pace made inroads in the first six overs. Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith, Manoj Tiwary fell forcing the pace. Dhoni stepped up the scoring rate with power-packed strokes, making room for shots off the square, but fell slogging.

Lions managed a fighting 161 in 19.5 overs after being asked to bat, losing steam in the last 10 overs (64 against 94 at the halfway mark).