BIG BEN STRIKES!
STOKES HITS RAPID 99 TO THRASH INDIA (AND EVEN KOHLI IS IMPRESSED)
BEN STOKES and Jonny Bairstow fired England to a stunning six-wicket win in Pune yesterday — and India captain Virat kohli admitted his side didn’t stand a chance.
Stokes thrashed 10 sixes in an innings of 99 from just 52 balls, and Bairstow hit seven in his powerful 124 as the tourists made mincemeat of their target of 337 with more than six overs in hand to level the
series at 1-1 ahead of tomorrow’s decider. Kohli described England’s performance as ‘some of the most amazing batting you’ll see’. He added: ‘They blew us away during that partnership of Jonny and Ben Stokes. We didn’t even have a chance.’ After the fifth-highest successful run chase in England’s history, Stokes said: ‘We don’t really fear any totals. It would have been easy to rein ourselves in after the last game, but it was important to play as we do.’ Bairstow now has 11 ODI hundreds, placing him fourth on England’s all-time list behind Joe Root (16), Morgan (13) and Marcus Trescothick (12). He said: ‘Naturally, you’d like to have the most ODI hundreds for England. I’m happy with those figures. But they mean nothing if you don’t keep converting them.’ Told about Kohli’s praise, Bairstow replied: ‘I’ll take that. It’s very kind of him.’ But he was less effusive about one former India captain, after Sunil Gavaskar suggested on TV during the Test series that Bairstow looked ‘uninterested’. ‘He’s more than welcome to give me a ring and I’ll speak to him about my will to do well in Test cricket, and the enjoyment that I get out of it. My phone’s on.’