Being into his complete elements and showing exemplary courage, Ben Stokes hammered his first-ever World Cup century to guide England to a much needed 160-run win over Netherlands on Wednesday at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. This victory has solidified England’s chances of qualifying for the Champions Trophy 2025. Deciding to bat after winning the toss, England enjoyed great innings from Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes who appeared extensively confident in their performances with their knocks of (87) and (108) respectively to take the team to 339/9 in (50) overs. Chasing the target, Netherlands lost two of their top batters Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann very early. There was little momentum with the knocks of Sybrand Engelbrecht (33) and Scott Edward (38) but Netherlands kept losing wickets at regular intervals as they were bowled out for (179) in (37.2) overs.
