Shot of the Day: Ben Stokes' inventive reverse sweep helps him get his 100 - ENG vs NED ODI World Cup 2023

England all-rounder Ben Stokes scored his first hundred in ODI World Cup history as he played a magnificent innings of 108 (84) against Netherlands in Match 40 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, November 08 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. Courtesy of his innings, England posted a massive score of 339/9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Stokes’s innings was studded with six fours and six sixes as he got involved in a massive 129-run stand with Chris Woakes for the seventh wicket off just 80 balls. The southpaw reached his three-figure mark in style as he played a remarkable reverse sweep to find a boundary towards third man on the fifth ball of the 48^th over. As a result, Stokes reached the milestone in 78 balls with his second fifty coming in just 20 balls.

Also Check: Watch: Joe Root gets bowled between his legs while trying to play reverse scoop during ENG vs NED clash

Watch the shot here:

It was the second fifty-plus score of Stokes in the ongoing World Cup as he scored a brilliant 64 (90) in the previous fixture against Australia in Ahmedabad albeit in a losing cause. The 32-year-old has scored 220 runs from five innings in the tournament so far at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 83.01.

Dawid Malan scored 87 (94) earlier in the innings

Stokes was well supported by Chris Woakes who also scored a half century scoring 51 off 45 balls with the help of five fours and a six. Earlier in the innings, Dawid Malan missed out on his second century of the tournament as he got dismissed for 87 (94) due to an unfortunate run out.

Malan added 48 runs for the first wicket with Jonny Bairstow off 42 balls and later got involved in an 85-run stand for the second wicket with Joe Root. The southpaw smacked six fours and six sixes in his innings helping England maintain a run rate of over six.

Meanwhile, Bas de Leede was the pick of the bowlers from the Netherlands with figures of 3/74 in ten overs while Logan van Beek (2/88) and Aryan Dutt (2/67) also picked up two wickets each.