Ben Stokes might not always justify the hefty price tag that he was bought for at the Indian Premier League [IPL] auction earlier this year, but he showed his worth with a splendid bowling performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore [RCB] at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
The English all-rounder picked up three wickets and gave away only 18 runs in his four overs to guide Pune to just their second win of this season.
In fact, the crucial wicket of RCB captain Virat Kohli in Stokes’ first over was probably the turning point of the match as Kohli and AB de Villiers looked set to take the game away from the visitors.
My man-of-the-match would have been Manoj Tiwary. I thought his innings made the difference to the match.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 16, 2017
That is the first time RPS have ever defended a total & it sets a new record for the lowest score defended v RCB at the Chinnaswamy. #IPL
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) April 16, 2017