Ben Stokes was given the ball with Chennai Super Kings needing 18 runs to win from the final over against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday. With MS Dhoni still at the crease, it was a slight advantage for Chennai Super Kings and memory of the 2016 World T20 was surely at the back of Stokes’ head.

In the final of the tournament, Stokes was given the responsibility of bowling the final over and it did not go well for him. Carlos Brathwaite slammed four sixes to win the second World T20 title for West Indies. West Indies needed 19 runs from the last over. Brathwaite was playing his first big tournament , launched sixes over long leg, long on, long off and a deep mid-wicket off the first four balls to complete one of the greatest finishes in the game.

The start of the over did not provide much confidence to the England all-rounder as Jadeja slammed for a six straight down the ground. The second delivery was a no-ball and he was fortunate that Dhoni was unable to score big from the free hit. On the third ball, however, Stokes showed why his captain trusted him in that situation.

An absolute ripper of a delivery castled MS Dhoni and with 8 runs needed from 3 balls, Rajasthan Royals were suddenly in the driver’s seat. The next ball was initially called a no-ball but the square leg umpire decided against it. MS Dhoni was not happy with the decision and he even came in the middle to explain his views to the umpires.

A double off the next delivery and a wide in the penultimate ball meant that CSK needed 3 runs off the final ball to continue their winning run. It was slower ball around off-stump and Mitchell Santner slammed it down the ground. The game was over as the ball sailed over the boundary and Stokes was left ruing his chances.

CSK recorded their sixth win in seven games as they made a rough weather of a modest 152 run target before Santner’s six sealed in a dramatic final over in which CSK needed 18 runs.

First Published: Apr 12, 2019 01:09 IST