• Ben Stokes smashed his first century in IPL 2020 on Sunday night.

  • RR defeated MI by 8-wickets in Abu Dhabi.

IPL 2020: Cricketing world goes gaga as Ben Stokes’ sensational ton propel RR to 8-wicket win over MI
Ben Stokes (Image Source: Iplt20)

In the 45th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 8-wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Chasing the challenging target of 196, Royals didn’t have a great start. They lost opener Robin Uthappa (13) in the second over of the innings bowled by pacer James Pattinson.

Pattinson continued the momentum and soon dismissed skipper Steve Smith (11) in the fifth over of RR’s chase.

Then, Ben Stokes (107 not out) and Sanju Samson (54 not out) steadied the ship. The duo kept on scoring boundaries at regular intervals to keep the run-rate high.

Stokes scored his first fifty of this season and soon converted it into triple-figure while Samson smashed his third half-century of IPL 2020. The pair didn’t give any chance to MI bowlers and took the game away from the defending champions.

In the penultimate over, Stokes reached his hundred and finished the match as well. Royals chased down the massive target with 10 balls to spare. Both Stokes and Samson added an unbeaten 152-run stand for the third wicket.

With the win, RR climbed to the sixth spot in the points table.

Hardik Pandya fires MI to 195/5

Earlier, Hardik Pandya came out all guns blazing and did what he does best in slog overs. Pandya exhibited his remarkable six-hitting ability and scored an unbeaten 60 off 21 balls.

The star all-rounder smashed nine boundaries, including seven towering sixes. His impressive knock guided MI to an imposing 195/5 after 20 overs.

Surya Kumar Yadav (40), Ishan Kishan (37), and Saurabh Tiwary (34) chipped in with valuable contributions.

For Royals, Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal picked up two wickets while Kartik Tyagi bagged one scalp. Rahul Tewatia went wicketless, but he was the least expensive bowler for his side. Tewatia only conceded 25 runs in his 4-over spell at an economy of 6.20.

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