Twitter reacts as Ben Stokes slams his first ever World Cup hundred

Ben Stokes scored 108 of 84 balls against Netherlands in Pune.

In a magnificent batting performance, England all-rounder Ben Stokes smashed his maiden World Cup century. Stokes came out of ODI retirement to take part in England’s title defence campaign, but it was a poor show overall. Stokes' century against Netherlands at MCA Stadium in Pune has given a small reason for English fans to smile. Stokes played consecutive fifty-plus knocks in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after a poor start.

English fans on social media were enjoying their 2019 World Cup hero’s 5th ODI century knock. A section of fans also felt that Stokes’ injury at the beginning of England’s title defence campaign proved costly for the defending champions. Ben Stokes missed the first three games for England in the ongoing World Cup, which made England play with a different set of 11 players than they were expected to walk in against New Zealand in the opening game.

Ben Stokes played a magnificent inning

Ben Stokes completed his maiden World Cup century with 78 balls. He played a reverse sweep to Dutch pacer Paul van Meekeren to complete his career milestone. Stokes played a crucial role in England’s first-ever World Cup win in 2019. Strokes started cautiously in his innings as England kept losing wickets at the other end. Stokes played a crisis manager role once again for his team and took his team to a big 339 runs total in 50 overs.

Apart from Ben Stokes, opener Dawid Malan (87) and all-rounder Chris Woaked also batted brilliantly for England and steered their team to a mammoth total against Dutch. After a decent top-order start provided by Dawid Malan, England lost the plot in the middle overs, and they were 6 down in 192 runs. Harry Brook (11), Jos Buttler (5), and Moeen Ali (4) departed in quick succession. From here, Woakes stood up along with Stokes.

Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes added a 129-run partnership for seven wickets in just 13 overs, which took England into a commanding position. Woakes departed after scoring 51 on 45 balls with five fours and a six. Ben Stokes also departed in the final over after scoring 108 runs on 84 balls with six fours and six sixes. England needs to defend 339 runs to win the game and take a stride forward for their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 qualification.