5 things that helped Ben Stokes vs Gujarat Lions

#4 Cool as a cucumber

Dhoni and Stokes put on 76 runs to rebuild the RPS innings

Having arrived at the crease at 10/3 in 1.3 overs, the 4^th earliest time in all T20 cricket, Stokes played his way through a couple of overs, trying to rebuild from his team’s early losses. But after that horrible mix-up between him and Tripathi, he could have easily lost his concentration and the thought of getting an in-form batsman out could well have affected his batting.

He needed to be as calm and collected as possible. The presence of MS Dhoni at the other end might have helped. He, alongside the former Indian captain, started the repair work by stitching together a partnership of 76 runs in 10.4 overs. After Dhoni fell with the score 118/5 in 16.1 overs, it was up to him to finish the innings.

The Englishman held his nerve, backed himself, took the game right into the 19^th over, and alongside Dan Christian, scripted one of the best run chases in IPL 2017, after the miserable start that RPS had.