Stokes’s 108 helps England keep Champions Trophy hopes alive

Ben Stokes played a superb innings, scoring 108 runs as England secured an easy 160-run victory over the Netherlands in their Cricket World Cup match played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune yesterday.

This marked a powerful collective effort from the English side, bouncing back from their early-match disappointments and reigniting their hopes for the upcoming Champions Trophy.

While chasing a target of 340 runs, the Dutch team could only muster 179 runs before being all out in 37.2 overs. England dominated the game without much difficulty.

Opener Wesley Barresi (37), Sybrand Engelbrecht (33), skipper Scott Edwards (38), and Teja Nidamanuru (41*), were the leading scorers for the Dutch team, but their contributions weren’t enough to reach the target. English spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali claimed three wickets each, while David Willey’s figures of 2 for 19 did the damage. Ben Stokes was named the Man of the Match.

With this victory, England moved to 7th place with 4 points, while Sri Lanka moved to 9th place, and the Netherlands slipped to the last position. Bangladesh holds the 8th place.

Winning the toss, England skipper Jos Buttler opted to bat first without hesitation, aiming to secure a good total a must-win game to qualify for the next Champions Trophy cricket tournament, much like the Sri Lanka team.

English openers Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow added a 48-run stand in 7 overs. Bairstow was first to depart, scoring 15 in 17 balls, and off-spinner Aryan Dutt made the breakthrough to dismiss him in the 7th over.

Malan the in-form batter displayed his performance, adding 85 runs to the second-wicket partnership with the former skipper Joe Root. However, Root was irresponsible, attempting to go for a reverse sweep and was back in the pavilion, scoring 28 in 35 balls with a four and Logan van Beek took that prized wicket.

Malan completed his well-compiled half-century but unfortunately was run out, scoring 87 in 74 balls, with 10 fours and 2 sixes.

Ben Stokes the left-hander who missed the first few matches due to an injury, was hungry for runs and made a well-timed century to favour the English team. He completed his fifth ODI century which entertained the Pune spectators. His 108 came in just 84 balls with 6 fours and 6 sixes. While he was sent back to the pavilion in the last over, did an excellent job with paceman Chris Woakes at the later part of the innings. Woakes made a fighting 51 off 45 balls with 5 fours and a six. He and Stokes added an entertaining innings to build up their total and pass the 325-run mark, finishing at 339 for 9 wickets in 50 overs, at a run rate of 6.78.

Off-spinner Aryan Dutt who opened the ball with Logan van Beek shared two wickets each while paceman Bas de Leede took best figures of 3 for 74 in his ten-over spell.

Chief scores

England: 339 for 9 wickets in 50 overs (Jonny Bairstow 15, Dawid Malan 87, Joe Root 28, Ben Stokes 108, Harry Brook 11, Chris Woakes 51, Aryan Dutt 2/67, Logan van Beek 2/88, Bas de Leede 3/74) vs. Netherlands

Netherlands: 179 in 37.2 overs (Teja Nidamanuru 41*, Scott Edwards 38, Wesley Barresi 37, Sybrand Engelbrecht 33, Adil Rashid 3/54, Moeen Ali 3/42, David Willey 2/19)

The post Stokes’s 108 helps England keep Champions Trophy hopes alive appeared first on DailyNews.