Top 5 Match-Winning Performances By Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes. Benjamin Stokes. Sir Ben Stokes? Well! The manner in which Durham all-rounder has been playing in the past few years and especially last summer, one wouldn’t have any reservations in asserting Sir before his name.

Ben Stokes belongs to that rare breed of cricketers whose brilliance is not restricted to mere statistical numbers. In-fact players like Stokes can never be judged by their stats. Like Andrew Flintoff, Stokes is an impact player and we have seen that on a plethora of instances in the past six years.

The Durham all-rounder is celebrating his 29th birthday today. And, so what better occasion than today to reminisce some of his match-winning performances in his career thus far.

Here’s a look at top-5 match-winning performances by Ben Stokes-

Also Read: Top 5 Memorable Steve Smith Innings In Test Cricket

102* off 109 balls vs Australia, ICC Champions Trophy 2017

It was a crucial group-stage encounter of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the hosts, in reply to Australia’s 9-277, were in all sorts of trouble after Jos Hazlewood [2-50] and Mitchell Starc [1-52] had wreaked havoc on their top-order, reducing them to 3-35 within the first six overs.

Enter Ben Stokes. The all-rounder hadn’t managed to score an ODI hundred up until that point in his 45-match career and he fittingly chose this game to break the duck.

What happened last time we played Australia in an ODI?

WATCH: https://t.co/iXR7sMoHNh pic.twitter.com/5kt54Crvg5

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 12, 2018

Stokes proceeded to belt the Australian attack to all corners of the Edgbaston Cricket Ground and all along with skipper Eoin Morgan [87] and Jos Buttler [29*] took the home side from the brink of elimination to a place in the semi-finals.

Stokes stroked 2 sixes and 13 fours in his unbeaten 109-ball 102 to knock the Aussies out of the Champions Trophy.

4-26, 2-20 & 85 vs Bangladesh, 1st Test, Chattogram 2016

A Test match that once again impinged Ben Stokes status as an all-condition all-rounder for England.

The all-rounder claimed 4-26 on a turner in the first innings before defying the Tigers with a brilliant 85 in the second innings to help England set a target of 285 in the fourth innings.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ben Stokes (@stokesy)

In reply, Bangladesh were chipping away at the target when Ben Stokes returned to the attack and claimed two wickets within a space of three balls to eke out a 22-run win for the visitors.

3-30 vs South Africa, Cape Town 2020

Pace, reverse-swing, relentless hostility, extra bounce, and a big heart. Ben Stokes displayed every ounce of all these qualities during the New Year Test at Newlands against South Africa earlier this year.

Having been set a total of 438 in the fourth innings, South Africa had lost seven top-order wickets but Vernon Philander and Dwaine Pretorious were putting a rearguard action and so with just an hour of Test cricket left on the final day, Ben Stoked decided to take matters in his own hands.

Stokes ran in full throttle, toppling the 145 kph mark and most importantly found prodigious reverse-swing. After multiple hit and a miss, Stokes finally induced an outside edge off Pretorious bat. South Africa 8-241.

Stokes went bang bang and claimed Anrich Nortje off the very next delivery.

With just a few minutes left in the Test, one could feel the tension in England’s camp? Could they finish it off? You bet they would. Of-course they did as Ben Stokes produced a brute of a delivery that rose sharply and hit Philander’s gloves on its way through the slip cordon.

England was ecstatic and so was the Barmy Army as their hero of 2019 had helped them to their first win of 2020.

84* vs New Zealand, ICC Cricket World Cup Final, Lord’s 2019

Probably the most important white-ball innings played by an Englishman. And, it came on possibly the biggest stage and in precarious circumstances.

Chasing 242, England had been reduced to 4-86 when Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler came together at the crease. The duo played sensibly, rotating the strike without taking undue risks.

Butter and Stokes added 110 crucial runs for the 5th wicket but when the former was dismissed England still needed 46 runs off 32 balls.

Despite wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end, Stokes did not panic and took the game as deep as he could. With England needing 22 off nine balls, the all-rounder shifted his gears and proceeded to smash the ball towards the deep midwicket boundary where Trent Boult caught the ball but at the same time stepped on the boundary rope.

Stokes kept his cool in the last over, smashing Boult for a six over deep mid-wicket. He had a slice of luck when the ball deflected off his bat and ran away for a boundary, giving England a total of six more runs, which paved way for the game to be tied.

Stokes stroked his runs at a strike-rate of 283 in the last five overs while his fellow batters stroked at just about 80.

England went on to win the game courtesy the boundary count rule after the Super Over also ended in a tie and that couldn’t have happened if Ben Stokes hadn’t played that crucial knock.

135* vs Australia, 3rd Ashes Test, Headingley 2019

Ben Stokes. Sir Ben Stokes. Lord Ben Stokes. People were running out of adjectives for Ben Stokes as he carved Pat Cummins for a square-cut to help England script of one of their most unlikeliest of wins in their cricketing history.

And, why wouldn’t they? After all, from blocking the hell out of everything- he was 3*off 72 balls at one stage- to switching to the fifth gear and smoking the Aussies to all corners of Leeds courtesy switch-hit, reverse paddle, ferocious hooks, belligerent square-cuts, Ben Stokes played in every single gear that day to help England record their maiden 350+ run-chase in Test match cricket.

Such was the effect of Stokes counter-attack that even the otherwise mentally tough Australians felt the heat as Tim Paine wasted a review [which as it turned out proved fatal in the end] and Nathan Lyon fumbled an easy run-out chance

Stokes capitalized on his good fortune and when he carved Par Cummins towards point, he had not only ensured that the Ashes were alive, he had also ensured that his place in the uppermost echelons of English cricket history was there to stay forever.