Ben Stokes
England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Saturday smashed three consecutive sixes against Kuldeep Yadav to pile misery on the chinaman bowler in the second ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
In the 33rd over bowled by Kuldeep, Stokes pummelled three maximums as England raced towards the 337-run target. On the second delivery of the over, Stokes hammered it over long-on for a six before he dispatched the next two deliveries over the sightscreen.
Stokes continued his six-hitting spree in the next over too, hitting three sixes and a four against Krunal Pandya. Krunal leaked 28 runs to bowl third most expensive over for India. Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma top the list, having given 30 runs in an over against England and Australia respectively.
After getting to his fifty, Stokes smashed 45 runs in just 10 deliveries, including 6 sixes. He, however, missed out on a hundred as Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed him on 99. The left-hander made his way back after scoring a quick-fire 99 off 52 balls, laced with 4 fours and 10 sixes.
Before Stokes' carnage, England's opening pair of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow continued their form to stitch a century partnership of 110 runs in 16.3 overs. Bairstow hit his 11th ODI ton while Roy scored a 52-ball 55.
Earlier in the evening, KL Rahul's perfectly executed hundred coupled with Rishabh Pant's aggressive 77 off just 40 balls propelled India to a commanding total. Skipper Virat Kohli also notched up a vital 66 to lay the foundation of a big score.
For England, Reece Topley and Tom Curran claimed two wickets, while Sam Curran and Adil Rashid claimed one wicket each
