England’s veteran all-rounder, Ben Stokes had a day to remember against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, October 25. Representing the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the southpaw had earlier been failing to perform as an opener. However, in the last game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, he came out all guns blazing and scored a century.
The Royals were chasing a huge score of 196 and lost a couple of early wickets in the form of Robin Uthappa and skipper Steve Smith. However, Stokes notched his second IPL century and stayed unbeaten on 107 runs off 60 balls with the help of 14 fours and three sixes. He also made a strong partnership of 152 runs along with Sanju Samson, who smashed a 31-ball 54.
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On the back of his efforts, the Royals went past the winning line with 10 balls to spare. After he played the match-winning knock, Stokes paid tribute to his father, Ged, who’s suffering from brain cancer for the last 10 months or so. Ben folded his middle finger to dedicate his ton to his father.
Saw it again today. Respect! https://t.co/oEXVm3jnPK pic.twitter.com/QZgJFXPe6n
— Kartik Jayaraman (@elitecynic) October 25, 2020
Ged Stokes had moved to England with his son to earn his living as a rugby coach. But ahead of that, he was a professional rugby player for while staying in Christchurch. But there were roadblocks for him. In order to keep earning money, he had his finger amputated.
An earlier report in cricket.com.au. read: “A persistent problem with a digit that had been bent out of shape by numerous dislocations saw Stokes senior seek medical advice. The doctor told him to have an operation and take a significant time out of the game. Keen to continue playing and continue getting paid, Ged asked for another option. There was only one – amputation. He took it.”
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Back in August 2020, Ben moved to Christchurch during the Test series against Pakistan. He wanted to spend some quality time with his family. Two months later, he joined the Royals for the ongoing IPL. He had to serve a quarantine period after which he made his way into the playing eleven.
