Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue- The Oval, London [September 13, 2023].
In the English summer of 2023, the New Zealand Cricket Team toured England to play 4 T20 Internationals and 4 ODIs. The tour was a part of the 2023 World Cup preparations for both sides. The T20 Series ended in a 2-2 draw, whereas the ODI series was leveled 1-1 before both the teams reached Oval for the penultimate game. In a must-win game, Kiwi Captain Tom Latham won the toss and elected to field first.
Kiwi speedster Trent Boult came charging in in his initial overs and reduced England to 13/2 in 2.4 overs. It appeared that the Kiwis would steamroll the English in their backyard. However, this is when Ben Stokes joined Dawid Malan in the middle. The game was on a knife-edge. A couple more wickets and the Kiwis would have wrapped up this series in no time.
Interestingly, what happened next was something truly unbelievable. Ben Stokes came charging against the Kiwis and produced a counterattack never seen before. Stokes scored a monumental 182 off just 124 deliveries (15 boundaries, 9 sixes) and took the game away from the Black Caps. He was quite unlucky that he missed his double hundred that day. However, the kind of game he displayed that day will forever be remembered. Be it pacer or spinner, everyone was hit out of the park. Moreover, his inning was a combination of both class and power hitting. It was truly a delight to watch one of the finest performances by one of the best players on the planet. Apart from Stokes, Malan scored a gritty 96 as the Hosts were bowled out for 368 in 48.1 overs.
A target of 369 was never going to be an easy task for the Kiwis. Moreover, the fall of wickets at regular intervals made sure that the English maintained a grip over the game all throughout. Eventually the Visitors were bowled out for 187 in 39 overs as the Hosts won the game by 181 runs.
Ben Stokes was awarded the Man of the Match award for the knock that will never be forgotten.
To watch the Highlights of the Game, Click Here.
To watch the Innings of Ben Stokes, Click Here.
No comments:
Post a Comment