IPL 2017: Ben Stokes’ Century Against Gujarat Lions Was Absolutely Incredible, Says Eoin Morgan
May 4, 2017 at 1:21 PM
England captain Eoin Morgan has lavished praise on his compatriot and Rising Pune Supergiant star Ben Stokes for his match-winning century against Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League.
The England all-rounder, who is the costliest overseas player in the history of the Indian Premier League, justified his huge INR 14.5 crore price tag with a maiden Twenty20 century to guide the Supergiant to a stunning 5-wicket win over Gujarat Lions on Monday (May 1). Steve Smith’s men were reeling at 10 for three when Stokes came out to bat. However, the hard-hitting Englishman took the onus on himself and smashed a brilliant unbeaten 103 off 63 balls, as his side chased down 161 with a ball to spare.
His knock included seven fours and six sixes and it also made him only the second ever player from England after Kevin Pietersen to score a century in the IPL.
Hailing the heroic knock, Morgan said:“It was absolutely incredible. You look at why guys go and play in tournaments like this, and it is so that they can produce performances like Ben’s, and sit on the same team as the Australian captain and an Indian legend, and out-perform them.
Morgan, who was plying his trade for Kings XI Punjab before leaving India for the two-match series against Ireland, further added that Stokes’ performance would not only boost his confidence but would also do a world of good to other English cricketers’ mentality.
“It builds a huge amount of confidence and it’s a huge stepping block for us as England cricketers because the huge challenge as a professional cricketer is to get to where you aspire to be, and gain the confidence through that to do it again and again. It is a game that’s played in the mind,” the left-handed batsman said.
Morgan said the knock is enough to prove that Stokes can outperform even the best of the players before backing his compatriot to do well in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy where England are considered as hot favourites to lift the trophy.
“It just proves he can compete with the best,” Morgan said. “Fifty-over cricket has come a long way. The similarities with T20 aren’t that far away, and rubbing shoulders with the best names in the world, outperforming them and growing in confidence playing with them, are two things he’ll have in abundance when he comes back. It makes us grow as a group knowing that we have a player who is potentially the best in the world.”
Speaking about his team’s chances in the Champions Trophy, Morgan said:“I think we are definitely in with a shout.We have all the attributes to go and win the tournament but it’s a ruthless competition, you need to win pretty much every game from the group stage and straight through.
“It’s come at an important time for us. And it’ll be a good gauge of where we are at as a side. We’ve done a lot of great stuff up until now, but we still have a long way to go before [the] 2019 [World Cup],” he added.