English
Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steve Smith said all-rounder Ben Stokes will not be part of the Rising Pune Supergiants team for the remaining season as he will leave for England to join the England national cricket team before the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Smith revealed this after registering a nine wickets victory against Kings XI Punjab in Pune on Sunday. The comfortable victory elevated Rising Pune Supergiant to the second position of the points table, as a result, they will have an advantage in the play-off.
The first and second placed team will get two opportunities if they lose their respective playoff game.
“It was a nice day. The bowlers did a terrific job,” said Smith after winning the match in Pune.
“We were searching a bit in the first few games. We had new players coming in, we have a good balance now. Really good to finish second and have bitten at the cherry. Yeah, we have a couple of options for Stokes. He has been magnificent and will be a big loss. Hopefully, the other guys will stand up for us,” he added.
Stokes, who was the costliest player in IPL 2017, will miss RPS’s final league match. The left-handed batsman scored 316 runs in 12 matches, with a hundred. He has also picked 12 wickets in 12 matches.
While taking about the victory, Smith said toss played a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the match.
“We were fortunate to win the toss, the ball was stopping. It was an easy decision today, the wicket was sticky. Shardul (Thakur) was outstanding, (Jaydev) Unadkat again was outstanding,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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