IPL 2020: RR All-Rounder Ben Stokes Dedicates Match-Winning Ton To Cancer-Stricken Father

English all-rounder Ben Stokes dedicated his match winning ton for Rajasthan Royals against Mumba Indians to his father Gerard, who is not keeping the best of health in New Zealand.

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes notched up a blistering unbeaten century (107*) to help Rajasthan Royals (RR) pull off a mammoth 195-run chase and register a clinical eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium at Abu Dhabi on Sunday . RR clinical win's against defending champions Mumbai Indians kept them afloat in the tournament and moved them up to the sixth place on the points table. Picking up the player of the match award for his game changing knock, the English all-rounder had a mixed bag of feelings as he was happy about the fact that he helped Smith-led team pull off a stellar win but felt the knock had come a bit too late in the larger context of the tournament. "Sort of bittersweet to be honest - it took so long to get one for the team. I would have preferred to get this form two or three games before when we weren't relying on other results to get us through to the qualifiers," said Stokes in the post-match presentation ceremony, in which he was declared player of the match. "It's always nice to get back to form. We needed a result from today, so - it's a good victory." Stokes also dedicated his match winning ton to his father Gerard, who is not keeping the best of health in New Zealand. Stokes father is battling cancer. Talking to match presenter after the match at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Stokes said "Things are a bit difficult right now, but hope this has given a bit of happiness back home." "And I was able to get on the plane with my parents' love and blessing after we reached the decision, for me to get back playing, as a family with no external influences." Stokes, who joined the RR contingent somewhere mid-season after spending five weeks with his family in New Zealand, took his team across the finishing line with a whirlwind 107 off just 60 balls. After reaching the 3-figure milestone, the 29-year-old raised the bat to dedicate his ton his ailing father Garard. Before arriving in the UAE for IPL 2020, the premier English all-rounder left England's home Test series against Pakistan in August and headed to New Zealand to be with his ailing father who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Stokes turned around his form with the willow, coming into the match after registering scores of 30, 19, 15, 41, and 5 in the IPL. He said that he had his best training session on Saturday since coming to the UAE and took that confidence into the match. "Training yesterday was the best I have had for the full time I have been here. Came into the game with a lot more confidence than the other games. Nice to spend some time out in the middle and finish the game off," he said.